Dangan Ronpa: Trials of Despair
by universalgrandma
Summary: An original story based on the world and events of Dangan (SPOILER Follow the story of young Nakahara Haruki, an average high school girl who is swept away into a world of mutual killing, betrayal, and (Rated T but violence to ..)
1. Introduction

Hi! First off, this is my first post to , so I'm a bit anxious. Hopefully you enjoy this story! It is based on Dangan Ronpa, but features original characters and a few plot twists. I ask that you not spread any spoilers and be courteous to other readers. Below you will find the character list that also features each character's skill. The story will officially begin with the next chapter. Please review and comment!

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**Nakahara Haruki** (f) - Super High School Level National Hero _[AGE: 16 ]_

**Ueda Naoki **(m)- Super High School Level Historian _[AGE: 15 ]_

**Fujioka Jiro** (m) - Super High School Level Cameraman _[AGE: 16 ]_

**Saito Wakana** (f) - Super High School Level Actress _[AGE: 18 ]_

**Fukazawa Akira** (m) - Super High School Level Pyrotechnic _[AGE: 16 ]_

**Hamasaki Chisaki** (f) - Super High School Level Inventor_ [AGE: 16 ]_

**Yamamato Yukio** (m) - Super High School Level Soccer Player_ [AGE: 17 ]_

**Watanabe Emiko** (f) - Super High School Level Chemist _[AGE: 17 ]_

**Miyamoto Satoru** (m) - Super High School Level Tattoo Artist _[AGE: 18 ]_

**Shizen Kaito** (m)- Super High School Level Naturalist _[AGE: 16 ]_

**Kawaguchi Oka** (f) - Super High School Level Magician _[AGE: 15 ]_

**Mori Masaru** (m) - Super High School Level Hunter _[AGE: 18 ]_

**Koizumi Ryo** (f) - Super High School Level Cheerleader _[AGE: 16 ]_

**Yoshida Tomoko** (f) - Super High School Level ? _[AGE: 16 ]_

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Like I said, please enjoy my story!


	2. Prologue: Part 1

Welcome to Chapter One of Dangan Ronpa: Trials of Despair. New chapters will be updated at least once a week, so look out for updates! Now let us begin!

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It's amazing how my life has turned out these past few weeks. Just a few weeks ago I was your average high school student. I was an average girl. Nothing about me was too spectacular or outstanding, but that's how it always was. I was never unhappy with my life. I never complained about being normal. In fact, I kind of liked it. While everyone else at my school had to deal with the drama, I was more or less detached. I was never associated with those kinds of things. I was just... average. Sometimes I wished I had been more outgoing. I wished I had done something and became more then just a normal girl.

Well I got what I asked for.

It started with the smell of smoke. I was wandering the halls after eating my lunch when it hit me. It tickled my nose. Something was wrong. No one else was around to inspect the happening. Quickly I crept down the hall, sniffing the smoke and coughing as I went. I followed the smell to the boiler room. Puffs of smoke were leaking from under the door. Something was happening. Something bad. My hand shook as I fiddled with the handle. I felt panicked. And once I opened the door, I laid eyes on a room billowing with smoke. In the middle of the room was a flame. And I knew what would happen soon enough.

Fear crept into my body as I backed away. I ran out of the doorway and screamed. I screamed as hard as I could. I had to warn everyone else. They might die. I couldn't let my friends- or anyone for that matter- die on my watch. Then I saw the fire alarm. I used all of my strength to pull down. I was shaking as the smoke poured out of the doorway. Then for a moment, the sound of my own fearful heartbeat was overpowered by the ringing alarm.

And thanks to that action, everyone escaped. The school was ready to explode, the fire department informed me. If I had waited any longer, many people could have died. At the time, I felt more happy then proud. I was just glad that I had saved everyone. But because of that action, my whole life changed. Everything took a 180 degree turn.

The whole country soon heard about the event. I was swept into the news and declared a national hero. I just thought I was helping, but apparently it made me a selfless protector. Imagine me, being hailed for bravery. It was a regular reaction. No one would just standby and allow their classmates to burn to death... would they? No matter, I was soon lifted out of my regular life and pushed into a high up, household name world. Why me? Did I really do something so incredible?

Within the week I had given at least a dozen interviews and had gotten numerous letters from famous folk. It was amazing to see how much attention I got. But one letter stood out from the others. It was in a solid black envelope and was adorned with a red seal. The seal had a small school logo. I knew exactly where it was from. Hope's Peak Academy.

"Hope's Peak Academy... wants me?" I said surprised.

I was average. Just because I did one semi-brave act… does that grant me acceptance into such a prestigious school? It was granted the title of best school in the country. Hope's Peak was acclaimed for teaching students with exceptional abilities, and getting admitted was a sign of who attended Hope's Peak were guaranteed to live great lives full of accomplishment, fame, fortune, and happiness. Past students have become famous celebrities, scientists, politicians, you name it. It was everyone's dream to attend such a school. And they want me? My parents encouraged me to go. So did my friends. At first, I really didn't want to go, but with all of the pressure, I couldn't say no. So the next day I found myself standing outside of the luxurious school.

I felt sick to my stomach just standing there. Everything seemed so impressive. How could someone like me live up to such giant expectations? I called out with a large "Hello?". I waited a minute for response. Then I saw it. A intercom speaker jutted out of the wall of the hulking school. The sound of microphone feedback rang. My ears stung in pain.

"Identify." The speaker sounded. It came along with an impish yet robotic tone.

"What?" I called back.

"Identify." It repeated. It must want me to say my name. So I did just that.

"I'm... Nakahara Haruki..." I announced. Immediately the large metal gates opened up. The front door of the school flung open, revealing the enormous insides of Hope's Peak Academy. The intercom made another feedback-like noise before the voice continued.

"Welcome, Super High School Level National Hero..." I walked past the gates and towards the school. I made a large gulp. "... we here at Hope's Peak Academy truly _hope_ you enjoy your stay." As soon as the announcement finished, I heard what sounded like electricity. The crackle of sparks alerted me of something or someone behind me, but before I could turn, I felt too weak to stand. What was happening? My knees buckled and I fell on the concrete walkway. My head smacked on the ground. I was blacking out. "Help me..." I whispered breathlessly. I knew no one was coming. I was terrified up until I lost consciousness. This didn't feel like a hero's welcome.

It felt more like a nightmare.


	3. Prologue: Part 2

Added: 8/26/13. Thank you for reading this far! Now you might want to get ready because more new characters on their way. Remember to comment/review and as always, enjoy!

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Slowly, I opened my eyes. My body was sore and my head felt like it does when I get migraines. My head rested on a wooden desk and as my vision slowly returned, I began realizing that I was in a classroom. The lights were dim, but the lack of light could not mask the brightly colored walls. I saw that the room had zero natural light, which made me feel even more anxious. Where was I? I was able to pull myself up out of the desk's chair, but felt weak. Last I remembered I was in front of Hope's Peak Academy. Am I in a dream right now? Or was I just dreaming of going to such a school? If it was the latter, I still didn't know where I was. I walked over to the half-open door and felt for a light switch.

"C'mon..." I whispered to myself. I flicked the switch. I turned around to find that the windows that would normally illuminate the room had been covered by large steel plates. What was going on? The plates were heavily bolted to the walls. Clearly something was wrong. The next thing to catch my eye was the black board. Someone drew an outline of a human with a bold "死" printed on its chest. Who would write such a creepy thing on a school blackboard? At least it looks like a school. I don't know where I am.

On the desk I saw a small notebook. It was unused and was accompanied by a black ink pen. I picked up the items and stuck them in my jacket pocket. With the strange happenings of today, who knows how useful these things will be.

I opened the door and stepped into what turned out to be a hallway. Several classrooms lined the halls with a few lockers on each side between them. Everything was brightly colored by the purple light emanating from the light fixtures all around. I noticed that there appeared to be some security cameras that hung from walls and ceilings. One turned to face me and made me feel particularly uneasy. I decided to walk down the hall. Maybe I'd find someone who could explain things to me.

As I walked I began calling out. "Hello?"... no answer. "Hello?" ...again, no answer. I figured out that this was a school of some kind, so there is bond to be a teacher here. Just as I thought this, a head poked out from around a corner. It was a younger boy with silvery white hair and a pale complexion. His skin made mine look dark. He had glasses that were a bit too large for his head eyes that were a stunning pearly purple. He cocked his head and looked at me.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Nakahara Haruki." I answered softly as I made my way closer to him. "Who are you?" The boy stepped out from behind the safety of the wall and approached me. He was a few inches shorter than me. He extended his hand and shook mine while showing off his bright smile.

"Greetings Haruki-san! My name is Ueda Naoki!" He replied in a very cheery voice. "Do you know where we are?" I shook my head. "Neither do I." He continued. "The last thing I remember was walking towards Hope's Peak Academy. Do you know what Hope's Peak is?"

"Of course." I said. He was a very friendly person, but the way he talked made me feel like he thought he was smarter than me. He probably was, though. "I was going to Hope's Peak as well... but then I ended up in a classroom."

Naoki gave me a surprised look and took me by the hand. He began pulling me around the corner and towards a room at the end of the hall. He was almost skipping from excitement. "Where are we going?" I nervously asked. He did not answer. We arrived at a set of double doors with "体育館" written above them. Naoki opened the doors proudly. Light poured into the halls, nearly blinding my already hurting eyes. When I was able to see, I was shocked to see more students inside. They all seemed shocked to see me too.

"Another student?" One boy wondered aloud as he clutched a soccer ball.

"How many more are coming?" A girl asked. She wore a tight uniform with the Hope's Peak Academy logo on the front. Was she supposed to go to the school too?

"I think she's the last one." Naoki answered. "This is Nakahara Haruki."

"What's your title?" An older boy asked. He had tattoos covering his neck, arms, and legs.

"My title?" I responded.

"He means your Super High School Level thing." Naoki answered plainly.

"Oh sorry." I apologized. "I'm Super High School Level National Hero." One girl in the back ran up towards me. She wore a tuxedo and men's dress shoes that clacked on the ground with each step.

"I knew you looked familiar!" She said as she looked me in the eye. "Let me guess, you were told to meet outside the school gates at 7:00 AM and suddenly woke up inside the school?" I nodded. "You're in the same boat with us. I think you were the last of us to wake up, though."

"Where are we?" I asked.

"None of us know." said a boy as he pulled out his lighter and lit a cigarette. There was a long pause where no one knew what to do. Then a boy in the back moved to the front. He had a camera that hung from his neck and hair that was short and the color of golden honey.

"Let's introduce ourselves." He began. "I'm sure it'll calm everyone's nerves if we establish who we are. There's no reason to be afraid... right?" There was no answer, but I agreed. I didn't want to just tell everyone who I was and be out of the loop. The boy with the golden hair shook my hand and smiled as he began his introduction.

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Well I hope you enjoyed meeting more students! The next few parts of the prologue will be uploaded back to back, as they are mainly Haruki's encounters with other students.


	4. Prologue: Part 3A

Added 8/7/13. Like I said before, these next three parts are the introductions posted back-to-back.

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"Hi. My name is Fujioka Jiro." He stepped back and snapped a quick photo of me. "I'm Super High School Level Cameraman. Nice to meet you." I tried to remember his name. He's had his videos featured in all around the world, so I can only imagine how his portfolio looks. He's considered to have one of the greatest reflex and reaction times in the world. I remembered the notebook and pen I had put in my jacket pocket and promptly pulled them out. I began quickly jotting down a few words.

_Fujioka Jiro - Cameraman_

"Why did you take a photo?" I asked. "I thought you said-"

"I'm interested in photography too. But I've gotten more awards for my short films." He showed me the picture on his camera and I was blown away. I looked great. He really is an expert with the camera. "That's awesome!" I exclaimed. He gave me a big smile. He must get compliments on his photos all of the time. He's probably gotten tired of answering to them. Suddenly, I realized how tall Jiro really was when I noticed myself looking high up to stare into his bright green eyes. Jiro had a kind face.

"I'd print that up for you, but I don't have a printer... or a dark room." He said scratching the back of his head. "Maybe they'd have one at Hope's Peak."

"Well save that picture. I'd like to keep it." I requested.

"Not a problem." He confirmed.

Jiro stepped away and his place was taken by the girl in the tuxedo. She held out her hand, but instead of giving me a handshake, she flicked her wrist and caused a rose to appear in her hand. "Super High School Level Magician. Name? Kawaguchi Oka." She set the flower in my hand and smiled. She seemed very calm, almost to the point where it was unnerving.

"Thank you?" I said skeptically. Oka was polite and looked like the person who'd never be angry, but something about her seemed off. Is it possible to be_ too_ nice? She looked friendly for the time being. I took the flower and put it in the front pocket of my jacket for decoration. I went back to my notebook and added more words

_Kawaguchi Oka - Magician_

"What are you writing?" She asked.

"Oh just your names." I added. "I'm not very good with them. It helps to write them down." Oka appeared content with the answer.

"Hopefully you won't forget me." She said. Her eyes practically entranced me into nodding. She spun around, swishing her short blue hair as she did.I didn't understand why she spun around, but then I realized what she did when I saw that a top hat had magically landed on her head. She tipped the hat towards me almost like a bow and continued smiling as she tip toed back towards the others.

Next, a boy with curly blond hair and a flower crown approached me. His smile was as delicate as his porcelain white skin and rosy cheeks. He spoke with the voice of a cherub. "You can call me Shizen Kaito, or Super High School Level Naturalist." He smelled like fresh flowers and pine needles.

"I've heard about you." I said. "Didn't you protest to save a section of the Amazon rain forest?"

"Yes." He replied. "I value all life on earth." He looked so innocent, but I was well aware of the activism he took part in. Anything that involved killing anything was immediately disturbed him. Which was understandable, but he took that to the extreme. He's also very well versed in botany and zoology. Anyhow, he merged back in the crowd. I wrote his information down as well.

_Shizen Kaito - Naturalist_

I would have talked to Kaito more, but he was soon absorbed back with the others. The boy with the soccer ball made his way to me. I could easily guess his skill. "Hi friend!" He exclaimed loudly. He was obviously a popular boy at his old school. "I'm Yamamato Yukio! I came here because of my Super High School Level Soccer skills!" He was certainly energetic. I remember watching someone named Yukio play soccer for the best teams in Japan. Even adult teams request him because of his perfect kicks and strategic mind. That was probably the boy standing in front of me.

"Hi Yukio-san. Did you really bring your soccer ball with you?" I responded. He gave me a bit of a shocked look.

"Why of course!" He continued. "I can't trust anyone else's soccer balls. Would an artist use just anyone's tools?"

"Is it really that special?." I asked. He gave me another shocked look and then laughed. He used his hand to push his already slicked back hair back further. It was a charcoal black and looked good on him, taking into account his tanned skin.

"Is it special? Certainly!" He chuckled. "My ball is my number one tool. I could never just use a mediocre replacement." For some reason, I understood where he was coming from. Yukio returned to the group and I wrote down his name as well.

_Yamamato Yukio - Soccer Player_

I was still unaware of what was going on, but I could tell that everyone had some sense of fear. Maybe everyone except Oka. We would just need to find an adult and figure out what this place is. I still had more people to meet, so attempted to clear my mind of any thoughts relative to our location. I looked around the room and counted the other students. Eleven teenagers were in front of me, and including myself and Naoki, that made 14 students in total. Five down, seven to go...


	5. Prologue: Part 3B

The fifth person to approach me was the boy who was smoking earlier. He had jet black hair with red streaks through it. His eyes made him seem even more aggressive as they were a deep grey color. He walked up to me with a laid-back stride.

"Name's Fukazawa Akira. Pyrotechnic." He began. "You need a cigarette?" He picked one out of his package, but I pushed it away with my hand. He shrugged and put it away. I've heard very little of him. I remember reading about a festival he took part in all the way in The United States. Apparently he stole the show with his amazing and fiery displays. He still felt dangerous, no matter how accomplished he was. I still wrote his name in.

_Fukazawa Akira - Pyrotechnic_

"Hey what's your name again?" Akira asked.

"Um... Nakahara Haruki... Naoki-san just said it." I answered.

"Right..." He muttered. He truly looked like he couldn't care less.

"How do you get into a school for... burning things?" I asked sincerely. Akira apparently took it as a slap in the face. He didn't respond, but he had a hostile look on his face that made his cigarette look cooled down. A hand belonging to the girl with the Hope's Peak Academy uniform reached up and patted his shoulder to calm him down. He exhaled and spun around to talk to other students.

After him she stepped up with a big smile on her face. "I'm Koizumi Ryo." She quickly shook my hand. I took note of her expensive looking nails and lip gloss. Her bubblegum-colored hair was as straight as could be and was decorated with neon green bows to hold it in pigtails. "I was given the title of Cheerleader, but no surprise there." Her appearance certainly kept up with her status.

"So Ryo-san, do you know anything about what happened to us?" I asked. "I saw your uniform and I thought-"

"Oh no!" Ryo said quickly. "I was just getting into school spirit, Haruki-san. I've never been to Hope's Peak Academy. Like Oka-san said, none of us are aware of what is happening. Maybe this is an orientation building." After finishing, she skipped back to allow another person to meet me. She apparently liked to keep things short and sweet. I jotted her name down.

_Koizumi Ryo - Cheerleader_

The seventh person to come up was the older boy that was covered in tattoos. I could only make out a few of them. On his bicep he had a clock that almost looked like a fine cross hair. Another tattoo on his arm looked like tally marks. I didn't spend too much time wondering about his body art though. He looked a little menacing. I'd want to get on everyone's good side if it meant we were going to live at the same academy.

"Hi, Haruki-san." He said nicely. "My name is Miyamoto Satoru, the Super High School Level Tattoo Artist... but you probably guessed that." He seemed so nice when he spoke, despite his tough looks. Satoru looked like he could be a good friend at Hope's Peak.

"I love your tattoos." I commented. I noticed one on his neck that looked like a tribal pattern with several bright colors in it. It was definitely an eyecatcher, not that the rest of him wasn't. Satoru had a multicolored mohawk that was swept to one side and he had piercings on both ears, one eyebrow, under his bottom lip, and one that went through his septum.

"Thank you!" He answered. "I did them all myself."

"All of them? You must be really good..." I said looking a bit vacant.

"All of them except the one on my back. And how else do you get to be Super High School Level Tattoo Artist?" He joked. He moved away and as I wrote his name and title in, I heard high heels hitting the ground rhythmically.

_Miyamoto Satoru - Tattoo Artist_

When I looked up at the girl, I immediately recognized who she was. It was none other than Saito Wakana, the famous actress. She was one of my favorite performers. Was she really attending Hope's Peak Academy? I would have thought that she'd be schooled by a private tutor or an academy that works specifically with other kids in the acting profession.

"Salutations!" She said in her usual voice. "You probably have heard of me right?" I nodded.

"Well that's good! My title is Actress. Are you a fan of mine?" She continued.

"Yes! Of course Wakana-sama!" I giggled upon saying her name. Things may be turning out strange, but I'm able to forget it by talking to her. She looked just like a doll, perfect in so many ways. Her face was as sweet as a child's, but at the same time she has a "grown woman" demeanor. I almost forgot to write down her information while I watched her luxurious red curls.

_Saito Wakana - Actress_

"I'm glad you like me!" Wakana continued. "Do you know where we are at all?"

"No. I'm sorry Wakana-sama..." I replied.

"That's fine darling. Just wondering." She made her signature laugh. I dreamed of meeting her, but I'd always assumed that I'd be paying 10000 yen for a photo and a few words. Now I'd be going to school with her. It all felt so surreal. Meeting more students made me feel a little better in the current situation. What school were we in? It most definitely not a school like Hope's Peak. I looked around and counted how many students were left. Only 3 more to talk to. Let's get them over with...


	6. Prologue: Part 3C

Next came a girl with a large blotch on her cheek. I wondered what it was but didn't want to ask. Apparently she caught me staring. "It's just a chemical burn. Don't worry." She said as if it was something average. "My name is Watanabe Emiko, the Chemist for Hope's Peak. I get these burns quite a lot, but it's nothing to fret about."

"Did you bring any of those chemicals... with you?" I asked, a bit frightened by her story.

"...Only a few." She said giggling. "But don't worry I'll keep them safe!"Apparently chemicals to her were like shoes to some other girls. She seemed nice enough, though. Her lab coat was worn out and it too had several burns and marks. I started to feel more relaxed the further she was from me. I didn't feel like getting poisonous liquids poured on me any time soon.

"I'll probably do quite a number of experiments here, but I'll be sure to tell you when I do. I'm not a crazy person!" Emiko said. Something in her voice made me seriously doubt that last statement. Nevertheless, I had to trust her for the moment. As she turned around to leave, I noticed that she had a vile stuck in her boot full of some kind of liquid. I'll make it a mission to keep my distance from her, but for now I'll write her name in.

_Watanabe Emiko - Chemist_

The last two people left were one girl and one boy. The girl approached first, and I noticed that she was holding a metal watch in her hand tightly. "Well, hello Haruki-san. You can call me Hamasaki Chisaki." She said. Her hair was in a frazzled green mess and matched her slightly zany face. "I'm known as Super High School Level Inventor."

"Is that your watch?" I asked. She tapped the accessory several times in anger.

"My broken watch. I'm trying to fix it. For some reason it's not working right." She grabbed it in one hand and shook in vigorously. For someone hailed as a world-class inventor, she seemed to have a few unorthodox methods. But sure enough, she held it out and proudly displayed the working watch.

"And now it's my working watch." Chisaki said as she secured it on her wrist. Her eyes were the kind that darted everywhere with every passing moment. I've heard of her in the news. She had apparently invented a high-class security system that could keep all kinds of intruders out. No wonder she was invited to Hope's Peak. She's probably stopped crimes with her invention.

"If you need me to fix something of yours, you can always ask Haruki-san." She added. Chisaki seemed like such a nice person. I'd gladly let her fix a broken watch of mine. That is if I owned a watch.

_Hamasaki Chisaki - Inventor_

The last person to talk to was the tallest in the room. He had spiky brown hair and wore a large cloak-like jacket that covered most of his body. His eyes were absolutely shocking and radiated self-confidence. "What's happening little lady?" He uttered. "Name's Mori Masaru. I'm the Super High School Level Hunter. And I don't just hunt for animals." He snickered and gave a flirty half-smile. What an annoyance. He licked his lips while he stared into my eyes. I could feel his hand go near mine and I promptly pulled my hand away.

"Nice to meet you Masaru-kun." I said with obvious sarcasm in my voice. To drive the point home, I stamped his foot with my heel as hard as I could. He let out a quick whimper and pulled his foot back. He quickly regained his former demeanor and walked back towards the group. Other girls giggled at his blunder with what was probably another girl.

I thought about his title, though. Hunter. He's killed animals before. I wondered what kind. I don't think I'd want to be close friends with someone who kills animals and then acts like a pig.

_Mori Masaru - Hunter_

That was everyone. Thirteen lost students. I returned my notebook to my jacket pocket. We were standing in a school, but not _our_ school. Everything looked so different from the pamphlets and pictures. I decided to start another conversation.

"Does anyone have an idea of what to do now?" I asked aloud.

"We're in a gymnasium right now, so we could try and look for an office." Yukio suggested. "As much as I'd love to kick around my soccer ball, I feel like we need to solve this mystery first." Yukio was right. It was a mystery. Thirteen passed out students wind up in the wrong school and no one is around sounds like a good plot for a school drama. I was surprised that I hadn't seen something like it before.

"But where would we even start?" Ryo asked. "We don't even know how big this school is."

"We could each go our own ways and look for an adult. Maybe they'd know where we are." Satoru commented.

"What are you talking about?" A voice called out. It was a girl's voice that spoke softly. "Don't go anywhere." She said. The whole group turned to look for the girl and faced a student that hadn't been noticed yet. She had dark skin and dark purple hair to match. Her eyes were bright which showed off her equally bright face. Who was she? Her face was just as innocent as Kaito's, if not more so. She noticed our collective shock and tried to calm us down. "Sorry for scaring you all."

"Who are you?" Akira demanded.

"I'm a student here. I wandered in while you were all talking." She answered. "My name is Yoshida Tomoko. Nice to make your acquaintance."

"I guess there are actually fourteen students." Emiko said. She must have been passed out in a classroom like I was. That made me think about the drawing of the human from the classroom. Did anyone else see a similar drawing? But then I thought of what Tomoko had just said. For some reason, what she had said seemed strange.

"What did you just say?" I inquired.

"I'm Yoshida Tomoko." She said again confused.

"No not that part. You said you were... a student here?" I questioned.

"Yes." Tomoko confirmed. "Hope's Peak Academy."

"But we aren't at Hope's Peak." Wakana called. Tomoko giggled and pointed towards the floor near the raised stage of the gymnasium. The wood plank floor was imprinted with the Hope's Peak Academy logo. Some of us gasped. I was one of them. How did we not notice? Everyone excluding Tomoko ran towards the stage together and stopped to look at the seal. It wasn't our imagination. It was the real logo printed on the floor. It was impossible though... wasn't it? Why would Hope's Peak have so little students, teachers that seem to have vanished, and windows that are bolted closed?

"I guess Tomoko-san is right..." Jiro said.

"We are in Hope's Peak..." Kaito finished. The school looked so different from what I'd seen from before. The weirdest part is, how come none of us remembered what happened between the time we arrived and our waking up inside the school? Everyone exchanged the same confused look. No one said anything. I looked down at the floor for a while, just trying to understand our circumstances. We needed answers. And because of the approaching footsteps that came to my ears, I felt that's what we were about to get.

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And from here we will move onto Part 4. Introductions are over, and now the real drama begins...


	7. Prologue: Part 4

Added: 8/11/13. I apologize for the lateness of this update, but I'm glad to say this is the last part of the prologue. After this, the story will definitely be picking up. Thank you for reading!

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I heard the sound of feet hitting the hard wood floor. My eyes rushed up and were met with a nearly indescribable sight. It looked like a stuffed raccoon dog toy. One that was able to walk. It had to be a machine inside. I would have continued believing this, if it weren't for the way it walked. It looked too real. Too human. The two foot tall doll clutched a cane in one paw that it used to move. Half of it was pure white, while the other was gray, with the split being straight through the center of its face. It was as if an old man had become a child's toy. Everyone was as dumbfounded as I was. No one spoke. I thought things were strange beforehand. Now... I didn't know what to think. The stuffed raccoon dog took its time moving towards the center of our group of fourteen. It stopped right on the Hope's Peak Academy seal. It stood there for a moment and looked at all of us. At least I think it was looking. The eye on the white side was small and black like a button. The other eye looked more like a red colored tear through the felt than an actual eye.

"Good morning..." It said slowly. The voice struck me as familiar and it took me seconds to match it up. It was the voice that greeted me when I arrived. Whoever's speaking through this strange little construct must know what's going on. "Welcome to Hope's Peak Aca-"

"You're a stuffed animal." Chisaki said confused.

"No I am not." It replied. Everyone was tense. It responded so fast... like it was living.

"Don't worry it probably has a speaker or something." Masaru continued. He was right, which felt wrong admitting. It had to have a machine under it's fur.

"Just tell us what's going on." Akira demanded.

"Calm yourself, Akira-kun. I've got no speakers. I'm just like you kids. A living, breathing being." It added.

"How do you know my name?" Akira gasped. "Who... and what are you?"

The stuffed animal laughed like an old man, which backed up my previous thoughts of it acting like an elder. It walked in a small circle during its laughing fit and stopped right in front of the boy he was talking to. He had sweat nesting on his brow and was clearly nervous. As it giggled, it poked the already anxious Akira in the stomach with its cane."Hehehe. As your headmaster, you should expect me to know all of your names." It chuckled. I could see on everyone's faces that no one could understand what was happening. So our headmaster is some kind of toy? That was impossible. Someone was controlling it.

"But you're a toy..." Emiko uttered. "You'd have to be remotely controlled."

"But I'm not, Emiko-san." It explained again. "I'm no machine. And before you start accusing me of being something I'm not, I think I should introduce myself. You can call me... Tanuwon."

"Tanuwon...?" Naoki repeated.

"That's what I said, boy!" The toy confirmed. "Like I said, I'm your headmaster, so I'll be overseeing all activity that goes on in this school." Everything was so strange and comprehending seemed useless, so I decided to let it- or him- keep talking. Apparently everyone else decided the same. "You're probably wondering about the bolted up windows and lack of an exit, right?" Tanuwon asked. A majority of us nodded in anticipation for the answer. "Well, truth is... you're stuck here forever!"

Everyone was in shock. What did our 'headmaster' mean? Everything was happening so quickly.

"What are you talking about?" Satoru questioned.

"Enough with this act. We're tired of your dumb joke." Yukio ordered.

"You don't get it, do you?" Tanuwon inquired. "This is no joke. Every part of this school is locked up tight. Not flood nor earthquake can penetrate these school walls. You'll be living here forever. We shocked you into unconsciousness and dragged you all in here. The world outside is too dangerous and tainted. You will lose your advanced prowess if you were to be left out in the real world. You would be exposed to the cruel nature that is our society. So from now on, these walls will protect you from the rest of the earth until you are strong."

"What...?" I said in confusion.

"Oi. What part of 'you're living here forever' do you children not get?" Tanuwon answered. It wandered over and looked me in the eye before it continued. "You'll be living a communal lifestyle from now on. No exit. No escape. Just peace."

"Enough of this!" Wakana cried out. "I have an interview tomorrow. Just stop it with this joke!" She crossed her arms in defiance while directing a menacing glare towards the raccoon dog.

Tanuwon howled in laughter. He clutched his fur stomach with his stubby arms. Wakana was right. This just had to be someone's cruel idea of a prank. I looked around the gym and noticed that even the small windows at the top of the gym were bolted shut. The fire exit on the other side of the room was covered up by several steel bars. This seems like some extreme prank.

"This is no joke, silly girl!" Tanuwon said as he snickered. "And if you need proof... just look up." He gestured with his cane to the gymnasium's ceiling. One of the panels slid away and down from the roofing emerged a large fully loaded Gatling gun. Ryo screamed. She clutched my arm in fear. I was too confused and mesmerized to react. The others reacted in my place. Screams of horror and plenty "oh my god"s were tossed about. It was now overwhelmingly clear that this was no prank. I could see Tomoko shaking in her boots. Even Oka's regularly cool attitude was broken and replaced with fear. Everything Tanuwon said is true. Utterly terrifying and undoubtedly true.

"You're serious..." I whispered.

"Yes I am." Our 'headmaster' said. "That's only if one of you acts out against me. They're all over the school so I'd advise you to be on your best behavior."

"Wait a minute." Jiro asked. Out of everyone he seemed a little calmer. He didn't seem like someone who would always keep a level head, but right now it was best to let someone confident do the talking.

"What is it?" Tanuwon said.

"You said 'these walls will protect you from the rest of the earth until you are strong'. What's that supposed to mean?" He continued.

"Yeah!" Masaru yelled. "I'm plenty strong!"

"Calm down you hooligans." Tanuwon announced. "Like I said before, this world is tainted. Only a few people like yourselves are capable of achieving greatness. Alas, you are still not strong enough. Strength is gained from endurance. Endurance is manufactured where a human encounters hardships. Here in this school, you will face hardships to prepare your weak souls for the real world. A true test to make sure you are prepared to succeed. Now that I've said that, there is one thing you may all be interested in. There is a way to escape this school."

"How can we leave?" Tomoko queried. She was particularly quick to react. Her fists were clenched and her face read scared.

"It's called graduation, darling. A student can leave the school..." He said, purposely dragging out his words to cause suspense. "...if they can murder another student!" Everyone stepped back and gasped. It's clear that this wasn't a prank, but... there's no way anyone could expect high school students to actually kill each other. Kaito took a step back and stared at his classmates. Soon we were all doing the same. Ryo released my arm and stepped back quite a ways. She couldn't have been scared of me... right? We stood in one circle around Tanuwon, not blinking in fear of what may come next.

"What!?" Chisaki screamed, breaking the silence.

"It's not my rules kids." Tanuwon added. "But they are true. You can escape if you are able to murder another student. However you'd like, too! I can tell you're all frightened, but you have nothing to fear. Just trust each other. The future of the world, that's what you're called. I'd expect you all to behave yourselves, but you are teenagers after all. So just think about it. Would you rather kill someone, or spend the rest of your short human lives in this school? The choice is your's."

"Hold on!" Satoru called.

"What is it now?" Tanuwon addressed. "I'm going to miss my naptime..."

"If they aren't your rules... then who's rules are they?" The tattooer asked.

"Oops! I can't tell you!" He retorted as he dashed quickly away. It was surprising, as he seemed to need that cane before. But it wasn't the most curious thing as of now.

"Wait!" Naoki yelled as our headmaster disappeared. After his words, silence fell over us once more. My head felt a bit light as I thought more about what Tanuwon had said. And as I thought more, I started to think of what was confirmed to be true. One, we were knocked unconscious and brought into Hope's Peak Academy. Two, Hope's Peak Academy was locked up and provides no means of escape (as far as we know). Three, the school was armed with weapons that could kill us if needed. And four, someone wants us to kill each other. It was heavy load on everyone, was another thing I was positive of, but it didn't seem all too big to note.

"What do we do now?" Jiro asked.


	8. Chapter One: Part 1

Added: 8/13/13. This is the first edition of Chapter One! Hooray! Everything will be more active in the story, but expect to get a new update every two days at least. Thanks for reading!

* * *

"I know what we need to do." Oka said. The attention shifted to her. It appeared that she had calmed down like Jiro did and was able to talk regularly, which was needed in a situation like this. "We need to listen and observe. We have to stay here."

"What do you mean?" Wakana asked. "I'm not staying locked up."

"That's not exactly what I meant, Wakana-san." Oka answered. "I think we should stay on the look far as we know, there might be some means of escape. Tanuwon may have been sloppy and left a few doors unlocked .If we just keep level heads and stay calm we might be able to avoid any of this killing. The last thing any of us would want is one of our classmates getting stabbed in the back... literally. Might I suggest we split up in small groups and search the school?" The group nodded right away, myself included. With Oka being our leader, things would be easy. She was trustworthy.

"Wait. There are fourteen of us." Kaito noted. "If we were to go in small groups, we would have four groups of three and one group of two."

"It appears you are correct." Oka confirmed. I could see the wheels in her head turn as she looked each of us in the face quickly.

"Also... I feel a bit sick. Could I stay here, by chance?" Ryo asked. Oka returned her request with somewhat of a scowl, which she soon brushed off.

"I suppose you could. Would someone mind staying with Ryo-san to form our needed duo?" The magician announced. Masaru raised his had. Oka smiled at him in agreement. "Alright then!" she continued. "The rest of us can form our groups and go venture around Hope's Peak Academy. We will all return to this gymnasium in approximately a half an hour. Good luck everyone."

As those last words left her lips, the students moved about, selecting their travel partners. Satoru grabbed Yukio and Akira, and the three boys ran in haste out the double doors. After them, Chisaki, Wakana, and the calm Oka herself wandered out together. Emiko grabbed onto Tomoko's hand and waved for Kaito to come along. I turned to face Jiro, who was busy taking photos of the gymnasium, and Naoki, who was caught up in fixing his tie. I decided to instigate the conversation.

"So I guess the three of us will travel together." I informed them. Both boys diverted their focus from their individual activities and smiled in agreement. The three of us walked from the center of the gym towards the doors and I caught a glimpse of the duo out of the corner of my eye. Masaru was holding Ryo in his arms for comfort while she sobbed. While I didn't approve of Masaru's prior behavior, he seemed to be able to determine the exact time to be serious. That was probably a side effect of being such a highly skilled hunter. Nevertheless, Naoki, Jiro, and myself walked through the doors together.

I noticed that the three boys to first leave were by what appeared to be a staircase. As I got closer, it became evident that there was a metal grate separating this floor from the one above. Yukio and Satoru were trying to shake it, while Akira had chosen to climb to the top. Jiro, Naoki, and I continued on. The boys would let us know if they discovered anything important. Next, we passed two restrooms, one for males and one for females. Nothing too interesting. We pushed on. We came to a split in the hallway, and because Kaito, Emiko, and Tomoko were investigating the class rooms down the hall from us, we immediately turned the other way. Oka and her group could be seen heading down the stairs that were marked with a "寮" above. That left only one more hallway unexplored, so naturally we went there.

The first room to our right was the Teacher's Lounge. We stepped inside and found that it had the same obscure lighting as the classroom I awoke in and the hallways. It had several things that would be expected of a room like this. There was a set of pencils, erasers, markers, papers, a bulletin board, a whiteboard, a printer, a few mugs and a coffeemaker. My eyes immediately locked on the mugs and coffee maker.

"Let's make some coffee!" I exclaimed. It would be a good break from the current situation.

"Of course!" Naoki said. "Do you want some too, Jiro-kun?"

"First of all, no. It's gross. Second, you two can have coffee later. Right now it's more important that we look all around." He added.

We both knew he was right. We looked around some more, but there was nothing left but some empty cabinets left. We exited the room and proceeded further down the hall. At the end of it was the cafeteria. Currently, it was covered by a similar metal grate like the one by the staircase. Tanuwon would have to open it eventually, right? Next to it was a solid metal door that had a card reader on it. I wondered why that door was there. Even though it had poor lighting, I could make out several tables and chairs set up inside. There was also a door inside that seemed to lead to the kitchen.

"Look over here." Naoki called. He ran down the small passage off from the cafeteria and ended up in front of another set of double doors. Once Jiro and I caught up, we recognized the mysterious doors as an entrance to a school theater. It had a large industrial lock placed on the doors. It seems that Tanuwon- or whoever is controlling him for that matter - doesn't want us exploring too far into this school. Through the small window I could see the lobby, which was relatively plain.

"I think it's time we headed back." Jiro commented. "There's nothing left over here and everyone's looking in other parts of the school."

"If we still have some time left..." I began. "You could print up that picture of me you took." Jiro smiled at my words. He and Naoki followed me as we returned to the Teacher's Lounge. Things were still odd and a bit scary, but having some new friends to smile and be by your side was comforting.


	9. Chapter One: Part 2

Added: 8/17/13. Another long awaited update. Not much to say here, so just read and enjoy!

* * *

"How was the search?" Oka called loudly. Wakana and Chisaki stood behind her in the doorway. The other eleven students walked towards our small huddle in the middle of the gymnasium. "Would anyone like to report what they found?"

I took a quick glance around. None of us seemed as a scared. Even Ryo calmed down quite a lot after she talked to Masaru on the bleachers. That was reassuring. In my hands I held the printed out photo Jiro took earlier. Even though I was nervous about what may happen in this new 'school' life, having this photo made me feel a little more secure. Satoru raised his hand and spoke first.

"Akira-kun, Yukio-kun, and I found a staircase to the second floor." He said. I remembered watching them examine the fence. Akira even climbed up it.

"Did you look at that floor too?"Oka asked.

"No." Yukio answered."There's a metal grate blocking the stairs."

"There's a locking mechanism on top that looks almost impossible to break." Akira added. Oka gave a somewhat disappointed face but quickly returned to her regular state. I then came up with an idea. I pulled my pen and notepad from my jacket and jotted down some more notes.

_1. Second floor: locked, grate in front of stairs._

"What did you find?" Oka asked as she motioned towards Kaito. He shifted slightly before talking out of nervousness.

"Nothing too important." Kaito replied. "Some school supplies and books, but nothing really stood out."

"I saw something strange." Emiko said. Everyone moved towards her, clearly anxious for the next part of her sentence. "There was a human figure on one of the black boards. On its chest was... the character 'death'."

"It was probably your imagination." Chisaki reassured.

"No." I countered. "I saw it too. It's probably just part of this whole sick idea." Emiko smiled slightly as a thank you. At least I knew that _I_ wasn't imagining it.

"Anyways..." Tomoko started. "I found something too. It was a file with the words "STUDENTS OF HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY" written on top."

"Did you read it?!" Masaru shouted.

"No." Tomoko uttered, tensing up as Masaru's words echoed through the gymnasium. "I went to pick it up, but Tanuwon appeared and took it away from me. He told me that it wasn't important for me to look at, and then he just vanished. I'm sorry that I couldn't look at it more."

"It's okay, Tomoko-san." Naoki said as he gave her a hug. The room was silent for a few seconds before Oka dived back into the previous conversation. I wrote down more information.

_2. Mysterious file?_

"Well we explored the dormitories downstairs." She said. "To be quite honest, there wasn't much to be found down there either."

"It's true." Wakana commented. "There were fourteen single rooms, one for each of us, but they were all locked. Seems like the doors can only be accessed with a special card."

"There was also a trash room, swimming pool with changing rooms and an elevator room. All of them were locked too, though." Chisaki said. I could see her keep moving her eyes towards her watch. She was surely a finicky person. "Someone sure is hiding a lot from us... I wonder why that is."

_3. Locked rooms downstairs. Special cards?_

_4. Swimming pool, trash room. Locked_

_5. Elevator to ?_

"Why would we need an elevator?" Satoru questioned. No one had a clear answer. The room was quiet once more as we pondered the possibilities. What could be below us? What could be above us? Before I could continue thinking, Jiro started talking.

"We checked the only other hall, but it only had three rooms." He began. "There was a teacher's lounge with coffee, a printer, and some regular school supplies. There were some empty cabinets too."

"Then we moved down the hall and found a Cafeteria." Naoki explained. "It was locked up like the stairs so there wasn't much we could do there."

"And the last room was the theater." I said. "It was locked up too, but I think it and the other rooms will come unlocked eventually. If we are to live here forever, I don't think four small rooms and a gym are going to exactly cut it."

The others agreed with a nod of the head. From above, we heard the familiar laughing of one stuffed raccoon dog. Tanuwon landed in the center of our group with a loud smack, almost as if he had fallen from the ceiling. We were taken aback by the suddenness of his entry. He saw our shock and laughed harder as he used his cane to pick himself off the gymnasium floor.

"Didn't that hurt?" Ryo asked.

"My felt is just thick enough to withstand falls 200 times that height, thank you very much." He answered.

"That's taller than the tallest building in the world!" Naoki exclaimed.

"Very factual, I see." Tanuwon continued. "I am strong enough to withstand anything, but I am not here to talk about myself. I am here to give you some more answers." On that last word, the others students and myself got close to the stuffed toy, which was something I'd thought I'd never want to do. "You have explored the school and have learned some new things, but I have something that will be of great use! Behold, the Electronic Student Identification Card!"

Tanuwon held out a small card that he seemed to pull from his fur. They were shining and metallic with a small screen on the front. "Or if that name is too long, you can call them ESICs." He added. "They have multiple uses! They will get you into your sleeping quarters and will receive updates straight from me! That is if I ever need to tell you kids anything in secret."

Tanuwon quickly tossed the card at me. I caught it with both hands and stared at its shine. Tanuwon flung the other thirteen cards from his pelt at each corresponding student. Everyone took a few moments to admire their new possessions. Chisaki wrinkled her brow.

"This looks like something I designed." She muttered. "The interface is so much like one of my drawings."

"That's because it is!" Tanuwon yelped. Chisaki's mouth dropped. "We found your prints and just had to use them. Pretty impressive, don't you think? And it's not the only thing you've made. Just take a look at the security system in this school."

"That's not possible!" She said.

"But it's true!" Tanuwon laughed. "You designed the very device that is keeping you locked in. How very... unfortunate."

Chisaki's face turned pale. I could only imagine how she felt. Her inventions being used against her. She nearly collapsed with only Naoki to hold her up. Tanuwon laughed harder than ever at her sick face. Just then, Yukio stepped forward.

"This is idiotic!" He bellowed. "Let us leave here now!"

"You know what my answer is going to be, boy." Tanuwon said. "One more thing, the cafeteria is now open. Feel free to dine there whenever. Also check the rules on your Electronic Student Identification Cards. Failure to comply will result in... you know." He faced the roof of the gymnasium again, where the gun had appeared last time. "Just know that I'll be watching all the time. This concludes your orientation to this fine establishment. We here at Hope's Peak Academy truly _hope_ you enjoy your stay. And remember, if this is too much... there is one easy way out..."

Tanuwon disappeared, with only his laughter echoing as he left. The rest of us stared each other down like we did before. The game had begun.

* * *

Congratulations! The map for the first floor is now unlocked!

tinyurl (.com) /n5qmmcq

tinyurl (.com) /lzhy91h


	10. Chapter One: Part 3

Added: 8/20/13. Nothing big to note right now. Enjoy!

* * *

The door unlocked with a click. Inside my dormitory room, the walls were decorated with bright wallpaper which mirrored the neon blue tiled floors. I closed the door behind me and began studying my room. There were two metal plates that blocked the would-be windows. A single bed was placed against the wall with freshly made sheets. A small desk and trash can stood on the other side of the room. A shelf sat next to the desk and seemed to be littered with dust. I then noticed the large television screen that was set in the corner. At the far end of the room was a shower door. From my point of view I could see everything you'd expect in a standard restroom. And of course, a surveillance camera was positioned in my room so that it could see the whole set up at once.

I waded over to my bed and flopped onto the mattress. This whole experience was too surreal. Laying down would definitely help. Unfortunately, the few seconds of comfort were interrupted by a strange sound. My eyes darted towards the television screen.

"Ding-dong-ding-dong!" It chimed. The screen glitched and an image of Tanuwon appeared. I jumped back at the sight of the stuffed doll.

"Hello again, students!" He said in a grainy voice. "As you explore your personal rooms and other parts of the school, you may notice something strange with the walls. That is because they are built to be soundproof!" While I hadn't noticed at first, it was now apparent that the walls had an abnormal thickness to them.

"Moving on, I again recommend that you all examine the rules closely. They can be found on your Electronic Student Identification Cards. Study them carefully, as they may be the difference between life and death." Tanuwon explained. "This is your headmaster, signing off."

The television turned off. Silence invaded my room. I needed to get my mind off the sadness and worry. I pulled out my card and pushed the power button. The screen booted up and flashed a picture of my face. I was smiling. It was such an odd thing to behold. I haven't felt happy or cheery since I arrived. I tapped the card and watched as the rules appeared. I didn't bother writing anything down in my notebook this time.

_1. The students will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the school walls._

That much had already been established. Nothing new.

_2. The time between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am is called "Night Time". During Night Time there are places that are forbidden to enter, so please take care._

I glanced at the time that was so conveniently shown at the top of my ESIC. It was currently 3:00 PM, so I had no reason to worry yet. It did make me a little curious as to what places were forbidden, though. And seeing as how there's probably guns hidden all around the establishment, this rule made me feel worse.

_3. You may investigate the school as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions._

This rule seemed a little more open ended and seemed promising. Maybe the upper levels will be opened soon. We might be able to enter the locked rooms like the theater or swimming pool. Next.

_4. No violence is permitted against the school's headmaster. Destruction of the surveillance cameras is forbidden._

Another given rule. It was interesting how we weren't allowed to hurt Tanuwon, but we were allowed to kill the other students at this school.

_5. A "culprit" who kills a fellow student will graduate the school. However, they must not let any other student know they are the culprit._

I shivered after reading this rule. I swiped the touch screen as fast as I could. The next rule appeared instead.

_6. Additional rules may be added by the school at any time._

Of course. Another open rule. That was all of the rules. I turned off my card. What could I do now? I had been fairly exhausted from today's events, more mentally than physically. My life seemed to be spiraling into the pages of a mystery novel. And I we were supposed to be given the best schooling in the country. Maybe some rest would do me good. I lied on the bed and stared at the bright ceiling, dazed to say the least. I closed my eyes. I tossed and turned in the sheets. It would be hard to sleep. It'd be even harder to adjust to such a drastic change in my life. I laid in bed for at least an hour before I drifted to sleep.

I had no dreams. It was a quick sleep. More of a nap, actually. I awoke in bed, covered by my thick blanket. I didn't remember putting the blanket on top of myself. I had probably just forgotten I'd done it. I attempted to fall back to sleep, but the stress kept me awake still. I always had a problem with falling back asleep. I would always have to eat a little snack or sip some tea to relax when I woke up in the middle of the night. It was comforting, especially when my life had gotten a little stressful. That never happened too often though. I pulled out my ESIC and checked the time. It was 5:12 in the afternoon. While I didn't sleep for long, I was sure I felt a little better than before.

It was clear that I wasn't going to be going back to sleep anytime soon, so I had to think of something else to do. I pulled myself out of the bed and walked around in a small circle to wake my body up. I glanced at the shower room. Should I take a shower? No. I could wake up without it. I had already studied my room, so the only other place to go was outside. I headed towards the dormitory door. Upon opening it, I noticed my door number; 009. My head snapped to face the hallway, where I saw Tomoko. She greeted me with a friendly smile.

"Hello, Haruki-san." She said softly. "Where are you headed?"

"I don't know really." I replied. I giggled a little afterwards and continued talking. "I'm a bit clueless as to what I should do."

"Well, Tanuwon said the cafeteria was open, so we could go ahead and get some food." She suggested. Her eyes were innocent as her long hair fluttered by them. She wore a sweater that covered her hands, which only served to make her look more like a little girl, despite her being my age. Her suggestion was just what I wanted to hear. Having a small snack like I used to would most definitely help me collect my thoughts.

"Sure thing, Tomoko-san." She smiled at my words. Her feet picked up and she walked with me. It was odd, as I knew nothing about her, but she acted like we were good friends. And friends were needed in this lifestyle. That was far too obvious.


	11. Chapter One: Part 4

Added: 8/23/13. Nothing important up here.

* * *

I walked next to Tomoko as we headed upstairs towards the cafeteria. We had come from the dormitory, and because we hadn't seen anyone else, they must be in their rooms or on the main floor. Tomoko didn't say much. She seemed perfectly content with walking in silence. She was a girl of few words, that much was plain to see. Something seemed off, though. It was as if I was missing some vital information. What could it be? Was it something about her? Yes. There was a thing I needed to know about her. From down the hall, we could see that the metal grate had been removed and replaced by large metal doors. How did that happen so quickly? Tanuwon must really know a thing or two about construction. When we were mere steps from the cafeteria's doors, I began talking.

"So, how're you adjusting, Tomoko-san?" I asked. She had a surprised look on her face and I assumed she had gotten lost in her own thoughts.

"I'm fine." She answered. "A little nervous, but fine nonetheless. You?"

"I'm a bit anxious myself." I commented. "I imagine that everyone else feels the same way."

She smiled in agreement. With both hands, she pushed open the doors and they flung out with ease. Her face looked even more startled. Directly, behind the doors was Yukio. He was busy tying his soccer shoe's laces, but quickly caught us out of the corner of his eye. Behind him at a table I could see some other students.

"I see you're here for our dinner!" He exclaimed. Yukio knotted his shoelace, got behind Tomoko and I and escorted us towards the table of students. There were four to be accurate. I took in the view of the cafeteria. It looked the same as any other, although the kitchen door was propped open and some noise could be heard from inside. Chisaki was chatting at the table with Naoki while Satoru leaned back in his chair. He seemed to smirk at every word the two exchanged. Off in the corner, I could see Kaito in a chair, staring at the large metal wall. He looked almost delusional. Naoki noticed me and talked some more.

"Greetings, Haruki-san. I see you brought Tomoko-san with you." He announced.

"Yes." Tomoko quickly replied. "We came to have some food. Are you all doing the same?"

"Yuh huh." Chisaki said as Tomoko and I each sat down at the table. "There's a bunch of food in the kitchen. Ryo knows how to cook, so she volunteered to make dinner. When the cafeteria first opened up, we came to inspect it, and Tanuwon explained it to us. The food is replaced every day by machines. It's all fresh too."

"How did the grate get replaced?" I pondered.

"Not sure." Satoru noted. "Tanuwon, no doubt, but I'm not sure how."

Chisaki turned back to Naoki and they resumed their conversation. Their words were so long and overly dull, I toned them out. Under Naoki's arm was a notebook that he was writing in as he talked. His handwriting was very legible and neat. He caught my glance and answered the question already floating around in my head.

"This is my History Journal." Naoki said. "I write down information all the time in here. It's all very important."

"Why do you need it?" Satoru asked.

"Oh. I don't think I told you yet." He responded. "I'm a Super High School Level Historian. I'm someone who studies and writes about the past for resource sake. I've devoted my life to this work and someday it will be put down in major history books. For now it sits in this notebook. It will serve a great importance."

"And what about your pen?" Tomoko wondered.

I hadn't noticed, but the pen he wrote with was thicker than the average pen. It was sharper at the point too. The end of it also was lit up in an ostentatious sort of way.

"That's my invention." Chisaki claimed. "It's a pen that only uses ink when it touches paper, so you don't get any on your clothes." My attention diverted to Kaito, who was still staring at the wall of the cafeteria.

"Is Kaito-kun alright?" Tomoko asked.

"I'm not sure." Satoru said.

"He's been sitting like that since we got here." Yukio continued. "He stopped as he passed the wall and hasn't moved from it since. He might be overly stressed. He is someone who spends most of their life in nature, so being cooped up is probably scary."

From the kitchen, Ryo emerged holding six plates along her arms. Her balancing act was probably due to her cheerleader status. She maneuvered over to the table and slid one plate to each person sitting down, leaving one for herself. She smiled wide at the accomplishment. She sure has come a ways from being the girl huddled in Masaru's arms. In front of us was a plate of cut up yakizakana*. The smell made me even hungrier.

"I heard you two coming so I got two more plates." Ryo told Tomoko and I. "I thought there would be more of us here. I assume everyone else is sleeping or in the gym or something. I made a lot of food for everyone..."

"Are you ok?" Tomoko asked. She pointed at Ryo's bloody hand, which I, nor the others had noticed beforehand. She was shocked at the blood and quickly dabbed it clean with a napkin. How did she not notice blood on her own hand?

"Sorry about that." She said. "I think I cut myself with the knife in the kitchen. Sometimes I can be a little clumsy. But the food is all ready, so everyone chow down!"

Everyone did just that. Yukio was like an animal with his food, which contrasted Satoru's clean eating. Tomoko and Ryo were quiet as Chisaski and Naoki resumed their discussion. I was fitting as much food as I could into my mouth. I would've checked for something harmful, but any poison that could've been in there would've probably been cooked away. So I just kept eating. I was too hungry not to stuff my face. I glanced up and saw Kaito still staring at the side of the cafeteria. I felt bad for him. Maybe he just needed some food in his system too. I don't think anyone tried to talk to him anyway.

"Kaito-kun!" I yelled. He didn't move. "Hey. Kaito-kun." His head slightly turned at those words. "Kaito-kun. Would you like some dinner?"

Kaito turned around completely with tears falling down his face. He stood up and it was now apparent that he was shaking. He screamed something incoherent and trudged across the cafeteria. Ryo got up and went to calm him down, but he wiggled from her lightly-placed hands. She whispered something at the blond haired boy, but he just cried harder. Kaito moved forward, not making eye contact with anyone. He slammed the doors behind him. The room was tense and it was no longer a fun and enjoyable environment. Something was wrong. Had he finally snapped? What was going on with Shizen Kaito?

* * *

* Cultural Note: Yakizakana means grilled fish. Many varieties of fish are enjoyed in this way, including mackerel (saba), salmon (sake), mackerel pike (sanma), horse mackerel (aji), Okhotsk atka mackerel (hokke), sea bream (tai) and sweetfish (ayu).


	12. Chapter One: Part 5

Added: 8/24/13. Note: Violence is soon to come, so prepare yourself. Also remember to not comment with any spoilers for the sake of the other readers.

* * *

There was nothing to do now but wonder what had happened. Kaito had just cried and screamed before bursting out of the cafeteria. After moments of worry and silence, we began to clean up after ourselves. It was apparent that after that incident, no one had the appetite to eat such food anymore. We entered into the kitchen and admired its set up. A plethora of food was packed in crates both opened and closed around the room. There were several ovens, stoves, pots, pans, knives, spoons, forks, cups, dishes, you name it. Spices, sauces and other luxury food items were set up on the counters. I would expect nothing less from a high quality school.

Ryo was busy putting away the cooking supplies while the rest of us went to take care of our own items. Each of us washed our dishes, cleaned our utensils, and stacked them neatly in the sink. Satoru and Yukio exited first as they conversed on the topic of sports. Chisaki messed with her watch as her, Naoki and Tomoko walked out next. I could here them talking about Naoki's studies. I would have left too if Ryo hadn't dragged me back to her with conversation.

"Haruki-san..." She started. "You don't think I'm... weak do you?"

"What?" I asked for confirmation.

"Weak. Do you think I am a weakling?" She questioned.

"No." I said. "Of course not. Why? Do you think you are one?"

"Well, I fear the others think of me as weak. I was the only one not to search when we first arrived. Sure Masaru-kun didn't either, but that was only to make sure I was okay."

"You're fine, Ryo-san. Everyone was scared, and needing a helping hand or a hug doesn't make you weak."

"Are you sure? I want to be as strong as the other students. Oka-san said we needed to be calm to get out of here, and I wasn't very calm at all. It makes me feel weak when I can't do as well as the others. I wonder if they see me as... a bad person."

"I'm positive, Ryo-san. We'll all make it out of here alright. And the others see you as a good person. If they didn't they wouldn't trust you with making their food." I said. Ryo smiled and gave me an unexpected hug. It must have been her way of saying thank you. She then giggled like a school girl. She stepped back from the hug and went back to cleaning the dishes.

"Thank you, Haruki-chan." She said. "Now, you move right along. I'll rewash these dishes to make sure they are sparkling clean for tomorrow's breakfast. We will be having steamed rice! I'll be sure to make it extra delicious." I turned with her permission an exited the cafeteria. While some people may be a bit off at this school, it's refreshing to see a good amount of humanity still here. Maybe Oka was right. We could make it after all. I pushed open the doors to the cafeteria to walk down the hall when someone called my name.

"Haruki-san!" Naoki called. "Come look at this!"

I looked left at where the theater was and saw him standing outside its doors. He seemed overly excited so I hurried to him with haste. He stood by the now unlocked doors.

"Wow. What happened?" I inquired.

"Tanuwon must have opened it while we were eating." He said while adjusting his glasses. "Chisaki checked it for us and everything was okay, so the other three went inside. I wanted to wait for you."

"Well, let's go in shall we?" I proposed with a smile. The two of us opened the doors and examined the lobby. It had two small couches and several large boards full of photos from past productions. Three doors lead into the auditorium area as well. Tomoko stood and read the list of plays and musicals.

"Oh, hello." She said, caught off guard by our quick entry. "Don't mind me, just reading." I took Naoki's arm and we ventured past the doors and headed into the house. It had hundreds of seats and a stage illuminated by the silvery stage lights. It was like a world-class theater. Satoru was looking over into the orchestra pit, while Yukio could be seen investigating the stage area. Yukio looked back at Naoki and I and shouted his findings.

"Hello, friends!" Yukio started. "There are instruments in this pit like violins and trumpets! If only we had a Super High School Level Musician here."

"And there's tools and set pieces back here as well." Satoru commented. "It looks as if they were about to put on a show."

A large gasp could be heard from behind us. We found Wakana open-mouthed and staring at the marvelous stage. She rushed as fast as she could down the stairs in her fancy high heeled shoes. She arrived at the stage and yelped with excitement. She even went as far as to give glee provoked kiss to Satoru. She pranced around the stage while he stood there in awe at what had just occurred. I giggled at Satoru's confusion, which soon changed into a smile.

"This is incredible!" Wakana squealed. "I'm so excited! Imagine what we could preform here! You know, if we ever did escape this school... But I would definitely lead! The rest of you could be extras if you wanted to..."

"I'm more focused on leaving actually..." Yukio noted.

"Suit yourself." Wakana said as she scurried backstage. "I'd do anything to get out and perform again. Satoru-kun. Yukio-kun. You two come help me look some more. I think I see a costume department!"

"Well, that's all that's here right now..." Naoki said to me. He was much quieter than the others. Wakana and the boys went backstage, still loudly talking about the theater. "What do you suggest we do now?"

"I'm not sure." I answered. I glanced at my card and checked the time. It was only 6:10 in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time until Night Time. Until then we could do a bunch of things. "We could head down to the gymnasium for a bit. Maybe play a sport?"

"Did somebody say 'sport'!?" Yukio called. He ran up the steps with an amazingly energetic face. "If you want to play soccer, I'd be happy to oblige. We will play until we fall down, which for you, might not take long! Come with me, Haruki-san!" Before I could object, I was being dragged towards the gym by Super High School Level Soccer Player himself. Naoki waved goodbye as I was whisked away. I wanted something to do and got just what I asked for. Maybe I should make a note to be more careful with my wishes next time around.


	13. Chapter One: Part 6

Added: 8/2/13. Just read on!

* * *

"Do you want to go again?" Yukio asked. I tried to say no, but I was too out of breath to say anything. I was drenched in sweat and my lungs screamed for air. I looked at him and envied his perfect look. He hadn't broken a sweat and even though he had ran around the entire gymnasium, he wasn't at all red in the face. Even is hair still held in place. No wonder he was such a good player.

"I-I-I'm g-good..." I whispered breathlessly. Yukio laughed hardily. He kicked his soccer ball off of the wall and bounced it back into his hands.

"C'mon, Haruki-san. Wasn't that fun? You almost got a goal that one time." Yukio said ran to me and offered me his hand. with grip and strength like his, he could have pulled me clear over his shoulder. Once I was on my feet again I decided it was time to retire to my room. In that second, Naoki ran through the double doors with Jiro following close behind. Naoki's face looked like a mixture of angry and anxious, which contrasted with his earlier happy face. He bolted towards me as quick as a rabbit.

"Have you seen my journal?!" He shouted.

"No... why?" I asked, still tired from the soccer match.

"Someone must have stolen it!" Naoki yelled in rage. "I need it back!"

"Naoki-kun, I'm sure no one stole it." Jiro said, trying to calm the younger one down. "Maybe you misplaced it." With those last words, Naoki delivered a powerful glare to his taller friend. He might be a sweetheart regularly, but he definitely was a different person now. I suppose anyone would get angry, but... why was the book that important?

"I would never!" Naoki answered angrily. He looked panicked as he paced the gym. He got angry again and turned to the soccer player. "Yukio-kun! Did you take my journal?!"

"Of course not!" He replied.

"Let's go. I'm positive you just forgot it somewhere..." Jiro prompted. He escorted Naoki out of the gym with Naoki going off again about his confidence in the fact it was taken. But why would anyone take his journal? His problem was not what I wanted to deal with right now. I still dripped with sweat and smelled terrible. What I needed was a hot shower. There was a shower in my room. Excellent. All of a sudden, a familiar noise sounded above from the television hidden in the gymnasium's corner.

"Ding dong ding dong"

"This is a school announcement." Tanuwon said in his older man voice. "It will be 10:00 pm soon. Night Time will begin shortly. The cafeteria's doors will be locked along with the theater's. You are forbidden to enter those sections of the school. Water will also be shut off during night time, so use it wisely. That is all. I truly _hope_ you have sweet dreams."

"I think I'm gonna go take a shower now." I told Yukio. If Tanuwon was truthful, I would need to take my much needed shower as soon as possible. He didn't respond as he had already resumed his practice. Yukio dropped the ball on the ground and delivered a strong kick to the soccer net. He jumped in excitement and ran to grab his soccer ball again. He would be fine if I wasn't here. I walked slowly to the gymnasium doors and exited the premises. I walked down the hall and eyed the still blocked stairway to the next floor. I wonder what secrets lie on the second floor? I kept walking and saw Emiko and Akira talking and overheard their conversation.

"What happens when you light that on fire?" Akria asked as he devilishly clicked his lighter.

"Don't even think about it." Emiko snapped back. I continued walking and headed for the dormitory. As I went down the stairs, I saw Masaru and Oka conversing. Seeing those two together was something I'd never imagined. She was so calm and polite, while he was a lot... worse. I could over hear them as I kept going.

"Can you show me a magic trick?" He asked.

"You can do one yourself. Just make yourself disappear." Oka joked. I giggled at her comment.

"Hey!" Masaru barked. I sped up a bit with my pace while laughing. Apparently Oka was more than just a cool and collected girl. I went around the corner and ended up walking by the elevator room. I wondered what that place was for. Obviously to move us between floors, but why? Was it an original part of the school or... I didn't want to think about it. I needed to take a shower and rest. I hurried to my room, pulled out my ESIC and opened the door. My bathroom looked like a holy haven from my point of view. I slammed the door and stripped out of my sweaty clothes as quick as I could. The cold bathroom tiles tickled my bare feet. I tested the water with my arm and stepped in once it felt just right. It was so refreshing. Undoubtedly the highest point of my day was feeling the warm water on my skin. The worst was when the water shut off.

"Really?" I asked aloud. Apparently Tanuwon's words held true. I wished the shower lasted longer, but I was fairly warned. Luckily, there were clean towels that were fresh and soft. I dried off and went to my bedroom. Did they not supply us with any other clothes? I saw something peaking out of the dresser. Upon opening it, I found a set of sleepwear, neatly folded and newly washed. I slipped the clothes on. They were just my size. They must have accessed my private information that I filled out before I attended this school.

I walked over to my bed and collapsed on top of the comfortable blanket. This time it was easy to sleep. After all of the moving I did today I could sleep for a few days. I deeply exhaled and went out like a light.

-MORNING-

"Ding dong ding dong!"

I awoke out of bed with a start. My body was still sleepy, but it was easy to tell that the sound was coming from the television. I rubbed my eyes and turned to face the screen. Tanuwon was shown sitting in a chair while drinking from a small cup of orange juice. How would a robot-doll-thing drink juice?

"Good morning, young ones." The stuffed raccoon dog said. "It's now 7:00 in the morning. Time to wake up! The day is young!"

I stretched and pulled the covers off of me. The thought of Ryo's cooking for breakfast gave me some extra motivation to get out of bed. It didn't seem like I had any clothes delivered, so I chose to re-wear my outfit from yesterday. I made sure to check for everything on me. My notebook, pen, Electronic Student Identification Card; check, check, check. Everything was going my way so far. Let's hope it stays this way. The only complaint I had was that I still felt a bit sore from yesterday's soccer game. After one more loud yawn, I opened the door. Fujioka Jiro was standing in the hall. He looked just as tired. Jiro wore his clothes from yesterday, too, which made me feel okay with my choice. He had slept on hair that stuck out all over, and his goat patch seemed to be his only constant hair. He yawned at me before giving an idiot's smile.

"How're you doing?" He asked. "Did ya have a good night sleep?"

"Yeah..." I responded, thinking of how hard I worked yesterday. "I'm hungry. Do you want to go grab some breakfast?" He nodded. Together we lazily walked down the hall and up to the main floor. We slogged up the stairs like a duo of weary elephants. I hadn't talked to Jiro since early yesterday, but it seemed like he still thought of me as a friend. I glanced down the side hall and caught a glimpse of the slightly open door of the Teacher's Lounge. Some coffee would be a great pick-me-up for the morning.

"Would you mind getting me some coffee?" I said smiling similar to the way Jiro had done moments ago. He chuckled at my request, but I knew he would give-in eventually.

"I suppose." He shrugged. "But you need to get me an extra serving of our breakfast, then."

"Fine." I answered. The blond-haired boy waddled to the lounge as I went closer to the cafeteria. I could smell the rice being made which gave me even further motivation. Maybe I'd be the first to breakfast. If Ryo's breakfast is as good as her dinner, I might take a second helping myself. Things were turning out pretty well for the fourteen of us being trapped inside of Hope's Peak Academy. As long as we kept calm, things would be fine. Why would any of us want to-

I heard a sharp scream.

I was snapped out of my early morning daze. My false sense of security was now shattering around me. What was that? Was that Jiro? Did something happen to him? I quickly hurried to the source. I made my way around the corner and found Jiro on the floor, looking terrified as he gazed into the Teacher's Lounge. I ran up to him to assess the situation, but he did not speak. He only pointed through the open doorway. The lights were on and even though I was utterly horrified, I could not mistake what I saw. It was betrayal. It was horror. It was something I never wanted to see.

It was the bloody corpse of Ueda Naoki.

* * *

~ Ah! The first victim! Next begins the investigation!


	14. Chapter One: Part 7

Added: 8/29/13. It's official. We've lost our first student.

* * *

Jiro kept squirming. I, for some reason, was unable to move my feet. I was shocked, but I couldn't take my eyes from this disgusting sight. I thought everyone was against killing. But with my friend laid out on the floor of the Teacher's Lounge, it was undeniable. I desperately tried to move. Left. Right. Left. Right. I backed up after a few seconds to focus and tried to collect my thoughts. Jiro supported himself against the adjacent wall while he brought himself to his feet. I turned to him with fear covering my face.

"Naoki-kun... is... d-dead." I stammered. Jiro's eyes widened even more than before, which seemed impossible. Naoki's stomach was covered in blood, and some more of that same substance littered the floor. I couldn't look for long. The more I gazed at the dead body of my friend, the sicker I felt.

"But... why?" He yelped. "Who would..." Jiro trailed off. From down the other hall, I heard a set of footsteps. No matter how much I wanted to run I couldn't move. I was still in a state of terror. What if it was the killer? Would they kill Jiro and I as well? From around the bend came Ryo, curious and innocent. She donned an apron, so I figured she must have been in the kitchen. She approached us steadily, most likely concerned about our similar facial expressions. Jiro flinched when he noticed her, but she just continued walking towards us. How would she react to seeing Naoki's corpse? Probably not as well as I would like.

"Are you two...alright?" She asked. Jiro shook his head. Ryo's face looked confused. I shakily pointed to the room, and with a quick glance at Naoki's carcass inside the room, she understood. She screamed. The cheerleader looked as if she was going to faint, but she shook her head and regained her composure. She was trying to be strong. Her cover did not hold long and she soon collapsed in my arms. Her breathing was heavy and abnormal, but she was not unconscious. She was already stressed from yesterday, so I can't imagine how today's events are making her feel.

"Is he really dead?" She asked in a whisper. Her question was met with a common jingle. Ryo stood on her own again, drying the few tears that she silently produced in my arms. The television in the Teacher's Lounge sprung to life. "Ding dong ding dong." Tanuwon appeared, clutching his cane in one paw.

"A body has been discovered." He said calmly. How could he react just like that? He probably did it, didn't he?"It should be noted that once three people discover a body, an investigation will begin shortly after. You will have just under an hour to collect all the evidence you need for the trial. Please gather in the Teacher's Lounge post-haste!"

With a click, the television turned off. Jiro, Ryo and I shared looks of confusion, fear, and agony. We would have to wait for the others to get here. I glanced at Naoki again, just waiting for him to twitch and move and come back to life. He did not. Ryo looked at me once more, then back at Jiro before clearing her throat. She wiped away another rouge tear as she spoke.

"What did he mean?" She asked.

"About what?" I answered with another question.

"He said that we needed to collect evidence 'for the trial'." Ryo replied. "What trial?"

-LATER-

After several minutes, the other students, save for Kaito and Akira were present. Everyone contributed their own gasps, screams, cries and wails upon seeing Naoki's body. Chisaki clutched her stomach and Satoru refused to look directly at the cadaver. Could someone here really have murdered our innocent friend... just to leave? What would happen now? With anguish on everyone's faces, only one person could take the lead and contribute to our investigation first. She adjusted her bow tie as she made her way to the center of the group.

"So... it's fairly clear that Ueda Naoki-kun is deceased." Oka uttered. Everyone in the room seemed to shiver at her words. We were already clear on that fact, but it still felt so wrong to say such a thing. "Before we do anything, I believe it's important that we understand the whole 'trial' idea."

"I think it said something about this in the rules." Masaru explained. He whipped out his ESIC and studied it quickly. "Yeah, it says something right here. 'A "culprit" who kills a fellow student will graduate the school. However, they must not let any other student know they are the culprit.'"

"The not letting anyone else know part is probably what the trial is for." Yukio added.

"Well how do we know for sure?" Chisaki questioned.

"There's only one way to know." Oka responded. "Tanuwon!" She announced. "Make yourself present."

Was it just that simple? On her command, the raccoon dog dropped from the ceiling, landing right in front of the door to the crime scene. The group jumped back in fright. He gripped his cane tightly as he wobbled towards the Super High School Level Magician. "Yes?" He muttered. "What do you want?" He asked.

"Please tell us about this trial." Oka noted.

"Oh, why of course." Tanuwon started. "You are all well aware that Ueda Naoki is dead. And one of you killed him." How... was that possible? No one heren would kill him, right? I thought we were friends. "I won't say who, though." He continued. "It's your job to find out who killed him. The way you will uncover the murderer is by having a trial. If, by the end of the School Trial, you are able to find the culprit, that individual will be punished. Very simple, is it not?"

"B-but what would happen if we don't pick the right person?" Emiko asked with a falter in her voice.

"Well..." Tanuwon added. "If you are unable to discover the culprit, that person will be set free and the rest of you will be punished."

"What do you mean by 'punished'?" Tomoko wondered. Her voice sounded different today. She seemed less innocent, but that was probably due to the severity of the situation. Tanuwon chuckled like he did yesterday. He promptly ceased his laughter and looked her dead in the eye to deliver the answer.

"_Execution._" Tanuwon declared.

We all grew silent. He's saying the answer to death... is more death? It was hard enough to think that one of us killed him... but to think that we'd have to fight for our lives... well that was certainly a defeating blow. No matter how terrified everyone appeared before his latest reveal, my classmates looked horrified by Tanuwon's words. "You will be executed if you guess wrong." The robot-doll clarified. "If you guess right, you will continue living here and the culprit will be executed instead. So if you are looking for everyone's best interest, you might want to start looking for clues. I will be sending a T-REPORT to your Electronic Student Identification Cards right away. The T-REPORT will give everyone certain information about the case. Now that that is out of the way, the investigation starts now! I _hope_ you are all successful."


	15. Investigation One: Part 1

Added: 9/3/13. Evidence bullets will be listed in bold, but that much will be obvious.

* * *

Everyone split up. No matter how much we hated the situation, it was important that we find the killer. I remembered watching Emiko and Masaru head for the dormitory. Chisaki went with them, after complaining of wooziness. The blood probably got to her. That was understandable. Everyone looked for evidence elsewhere, but three people and myself decided to look right near the corpse. I didn't focus on how much I abhorred this violence, I needed to find out who did this to my friend. He wouldn't die in vain. Jiro was directed by Oka to take the highest quality photos of the body possible. Tomoko, for some odd reason, requested that she be allowed to examine Naoki. She seemed more comfortable with it then I imagined. Before I talked to anyone further, I decided to examine the T-REPORT. A message icon was set on my ESIC, and with a single finger swipe, the report showed itself on the screen.

_Victim: Ueda Naoki - SHSL Historian_

_The body was discovered at 7:05 AM in the Teacher's Lounge. The time of death is unknown. The victim has thin marks around his neck and puncture wounds on the left hand and abdomen. Next to the pool of blood on the left of the corpse is a unknown brown liquid along with white ceramic shards. There are no other wounds or markings on the body._

**Evidence Bullet: T-REPORT**

"It appears everything in the T-REPORT is correct." Oka said as she finished reading the report herself. I quickly glanced at Naoki's stomach and left hand, where the aforementioned wounds were. Even his neck had the precise marks listed. It wasn't much to go off of, but it's definitely needed. Any information we can get our hands on is important. Tomoko finished her own examination and let the body be. Jiro took one last snapshot of the crime scene before joining in the conversation.

"There's plenty of blood, but I think its more post mortem then anything else." Tomoko said. It was strange to see such a personality change with her. All of a sudden she was a serious person, saying things like 'post mortem'. "I haven't found any other wounds, but I did identify the mysterious brown liquid. It was coffee. He must have made some with the coffee machine on the counter."

"How are you sure?" Jiro asked.

"There's a fresh pot." She pointed out.

"Which means the ceramic shards are the mug the coffee was in." I concurred.

"And look over here." Oka began. "There's another mug on the counter. This one has lip marks too. Maybe Naoki had two cups."

"It seems odd that he wouldn't finish one before making another, though." Tomoko said as she touched the whole cup with her finger tips. "This one's still warm, too."

**Evidence Bullet: Tomoko's Search**

**Evidence Bullet: Coffee & Mugs**

"I've finished my picture taking." Jiro added. "There seems to have been a commotion, too. Look at all the office supplies on the floor."

I looked around the floor, and sure enough there were papers, pens and a stapler covering the area around the body. Those objects are definite signs of a struggle. I wonder why no one heard it, though. Despite the evidence we were collecting, I still felt uneasy being in the same room as a... dead body. Especially one that was once a friend of mine.

**Evidence Bullet: Office Supplies**

"I'm going to look in the dormitory area." I commented. I needed to get some fresh air. I needed to be away from Naoki's corpse. Oka nodded and waved me on. She probably understood what I was going through. Maybe someone else has collected some important evidence. I turned out of the door and saw Ryo crying in the hallway. As I approached her, she quickly dried her tears and tried to look tough again. She wasn't doing that because of what I said... right?

"Ryo-san, are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm f-f-... No... I'm not alright." She said sadly. "Can I tell you something, Haruki-chan?"

"Of course." I replied.

"To be honest... I saw Naoki-kun before he died." She revealed. I stepped back a bit. She might have critical information for solving the murder.

"Well, what did he say?" I asked.

"I talked to him early this morning. It wasn't anything important, just something about his journal being missing. It was around 6:30 AM." Ryo said. "He didn't follow me to the cafeteria, but I did see him go in the Teacher's Lounge."

"What were you doing up that early?" I questioned.

"I went to go make breakfast, but I didn't realize that the cafeteria wouldn't be open for another thirty minutes." She replied. "Kaito was there for a few minutes with me, but he didn't say anything. He went back towards the dormitory soon after. I just waited by the theater for the rest of the time. I tried reading the play board from the window to kill time."

"Alright. Thanks for your help." I said.

**Evidence Bullet: Ryo's Testimony**

So it was clear that Kaito was out and about in the morning. Maybe he knows something about what happened. But he didn't show up this morning. Is he hiding? Maybe he knew about the murder and wanted to get a head start on the investigation. I walked down the flight of stairs and arrived in the dormitory. From afar, I could see Emiko and Masaru looking in an open room. It must have been Naoki's. Emiko noticed me and called for me.

"Haruki-san!" She said excitedly. "I think we found something!"

I hurried over to the chemist and entered the room. It looked just like mine, but tidier. Naoki seemed like a neat person when I first met him, so I wasn't too surprised. I looked around the room for any piece of incriminating evidence. There wasn't anything that stood out.

"Check under the bed." Masaru hinted. Was there a clue under there? I reached under and grabbed some kind of object. I pulled it out and when it was brought into the light, it was easily identifiable as a coil of rope. Why was there rope under the bed? It had to be used in the murder somehow.

"Do you know what it's for?" I asked the two of them. They both shook their heads. As I stood up, I noticed a gleam coming from under the wooden dresser. Emiko saw my glare and investigated the piece of furniture for herself. She dug one hand under it and fished out an Electronic Student Identification Card. Who would leave their ESIC in their room? It's important after all. Emiko clicked the button and looked surprised.

"It's Naoki's." She said. "I wonder why it was here."

I had an idea.

**Evidence Bullet: Rope**

**Evidence Bullet: Electronic Student Identification Card**

That was all to look for in Naoki's room. I escorted myself out and ran into someone right away. I apologized quickly and realized... it was Kaito. He gave me an odd look. Where had he been? I wanted to ask him so many questions, but I had no idea where to start. He looked at me with wide rabbit eyes that complimented his wild blond hair. I went to ask him something, but he dashed away from me. He looked just as delirious as before, if not more so. I was forced to ignore his strange behavior when I heard shouting coming from the upstairs.


	16. Investigation One: Part 2

Added: 9/7/13. When we last left off, Haruki ran into Kaito, and there was a noise coming from upstairs.

* * *

What was that? It only got louder and louder. How come I didn't hear it beforehand? Someone was yelling. No. It was two people yelling. Maybe more. The only thing I was sure of was that I needed to see what was going on. I ran up the stairwell and found Satoru at the end of the hall. He looked just as confused and nervous as I thought I looked.

"Satoru-kun, what's going on?" I yelled. He whipped his head around so fast his mohawk looked like it would come off.

"I don't know, but I think the sound is coming from the gymnasium." He responded. Satoru ran towards the gym and I followed closely behind. Together, the two of us burst open the doors to find what looked like a fight. Akira was gripping tightly on Yukio's hair. Jiro, Tomoko, Chisaki, Wakana and Oka were on the sidelines, pleading for the two to stop fighting. Why were they fighting? I hadn't seen either of them all day. I saw both of them last night, but neither of them looked suspicious.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Satoru bellowed. He got in between Akira and Yukio, but was unable to keep them at bay despite his intimidating physique. The two were furious at each other but why? They almost looked like friends yesterday. Maybe Akira insulted soccer or something...

"You probably killed him didn't you?!" Akira yelled as he punched Yukio in the shoulder. The soccer player stumbled back into the bleachers, but soon came back out and delivered an equally strong punch to Akira's jaw. The boy with the red streak in his hair cursed at him before flying back with more punches.

"You killed him! I didn't do anything!" Yukio screamed. They were talking about Naoki's murder. This was no time to fight. We had to keep looking. I glanced at Tomoko and she seemed to understand my unspoken message. Akira went to punch Yukio again, but Tomoko stepped in front of the athletic boy. My heart stopped. Tomoko looked so frail. I was mistaken about her abilities, however. Akira followed through with the punch, but before he could accidentally hit her, she delivered a quick jab with two fingers to his arm. He instantly tensed up and tripped under his own momentum. I couldn't believe it. She wasn't over 160 cm and yet she took down Akira in one motion. The others on the sidelines were in awe as well.

"I'm sorry, Akira-kun. Please don't fight anymore." She said sweetly. "We don't need more violence."

"What were you fighting about?" I asked Yukio. He had wide eyes and was probably just as surprised upon seeing Tomoko's move.

"He accused me of killing Naoki-kun." The boy answered. "I didn't do it, though. I spent my whole night practicing in the gymnasium. I woke up in the hallway by the bathrooms at 3:35 AM. I guess I passed out on my way to use it!"

"What did you do after that?" I asked.

"I went back to practicing!"

"You didn't take a break? Even after you fainted?" Jiro questioned.

"No!" Yukio declared. "I need to practice as much as possible! Anyways, I heard about the murder when you guys did."

"Y-you don't have an a-alibi!" Akira exclaimed.

"Where were you last night?" Wakana asked Akira.

"I talked to Emiko for a while, but then I was tired, so I went to sleep. I slept through the announcement and didn't wake up until a half-hour ago." He explained.

"Hmm." Oka said. "I think that's all we need for now. Thank you."

**Evidence Bullet: Yukio's Testimony**

**Evidence Bullet: Akira's Testimony**

"Ding dong ding dong." Sounded the television in the corner.

"This is a school announcement." Tanuwon announced as his image appeared on the screen. "It's time for the school trial to begin. Everyone please gather by the elevator room on the dormitory level. Good luck and remember, hope is a key tool. Never relinquish it!"

The television screen shut off. The room felt very eerie as we stood there. It's time to get ready for the trial. If we won, we would stay alive, but if we lost... No. We had to win. There was no other way. Tomoko's voice pierced the silent air.

"Let's go." She said. "There's no use holding out any longer."

She was right. The nine of us exited the gym and made our way to the elevator room, remaining silent the whole time. I was too terrified to talk. I wonder who everyone thinks is responsible. We arrived at the destination, where we met two of the other students. There was only one of us missing.

"Where's Kaito-kun?" Masaru asked. "Has anyone seen him?"

"I did earlier... he ran off, though." I answered.

"You let him get away?" Emiko asked, shocked by what I said.

"I didn't think he would run away." I replied. Just as I said that, Tanuwon materialized from thin air. He held his cane and on his head was a white, powdered wig. He wore black robes, too. Clearly, he was our judge... and executioner.

"Don't fret, little ones." He said. "I will fetch the missing boy." Everyone else seemed anxious. We had no time to wait. We needed to find out who killed Naoki...our friend. Somehow, Tanuwon came back with Kaito. It had only been thirty seconds. How did he move so fast? "Are you ready, kids?" Tanuwon asked. No one replied. He didn't seem to care, though. Tanuwon waved his paw, and the large door opened up. The elevator room was a small waiting area for the singe steel elevator in the back. Nothing too fancy, which came as a surprise. Everything else was so advanced. Tanuwon waved his paw one more time, and the elevator doors slid open.

"Come on in!" He insisted. He lead each of us in, one by one. Soon the thirteen of us stood next to one another in the small metal chamber. I looked at the buttons on the wall. One for up, one for down. The up button was broken, though, so the only place we could go was... lower into the school. Tanuwon clicked the button and the elevator started up. Soon, we were slowly descending into the inner center of the school. I looked at my classmates. Kaito shivered in the corner of the room. Ryo gripped Masaru's arm, and I could see that she was trying to stay strong. Tomoko showed up behind me and held onto my arm. It was a bit surprising, but she was the person I trusted the most right now. The elevator halted as it hit the bottom floor. The elevator door slid open, revealing a brightly colored room. Fourteen podiums were set up in a circle, with one large throne chair in the back of the room.

This was it. The trial was about to begin.


	17. Trial One: Part 1

Added: 9/9/13. If you haven't read Dangan Ronpa, you should know that every time a new topic starts, there will be points where the player will interfere with what someone else is saying so the group can get closer to the truth. In the translation, possible contradictions are in bold, but in this story they will not be that way.

* * *

"Welcome to the court room!" Tanuwon said proudly. "Please find the podium with your name marked at the top!"

Slowly, the thirteen of us moved from the elevator and found our places. The room was oddly lit with gold and red lights. This place was built especially for us. It was made because... a murder was expected. My podium was across from Wakana's, who had Tanuwon in the large chair sitting behind her. To my left was Emiko, and to my right was a sign with Naoki's face on it. A large red "x" was placed over his face. It helped remind me what we were here for. We were going to find out who killed Naoki. We were going to avenge him. The room was dead silent for a few moments. I pulled out my notebook and wrote down what evidence I could use. No matter how useless it may end up being... anything and everything was important. Everyone's lives were on the line.

"Do we really have to do this?" Chisaki asked, looking a bit sick. "No one wants anymore death."

"She's right." Kaito piped up. Everyone was taken aback by the blonde boys first words of the day.

"You're just afraid because we know you're the culprit, Kaito-kun!" Emiko claimed. Her words were odd. Kaito didn't seem like a murderer. Even if he was acting particularly out of character, it still seemed impossible that such a small person could murder someone so coldly.

"Does everyone think that?" I asked the group. Nearly everyone nodded.

"He has been acting strange..." Wakana pointed out.

"Hey hey hey! Save this debating for the actual trial! " Tanuwon bellowed. "And of course we have to do this. Without punishment, this whole school has no purpose. We can't just have you kids murdering each other and getting off scott free, now can we? Now, the rules of the school trial are simple. We will go and debate each point of the crime until I feel we've gone over enough information. Once that happens, you will all need to vote for who you think killed Ueda Naoki. If you guess correctly, the ne'er do well shall be executed. If you guess wrong... everyone but that person will be executed. Is that clear?"

No one spoke.

"Alright then, let's begin this trial!"

"The victim... Ueda Naoki." Tomoko immediately said. She wasted no time getting into the debate. The speed of her delivery was quite stunning, to be honest. The others seemed to be a little slower than her. "What should we talk about first?

"I think the circumstance involving **the murder weapon** is a good issue to discuss." Oka responded.

"There were puncture wounds on the victim's left hand and abdomen." Masaru noted. "With the amount of blood that was lost, those could have killed him."

"There were also marks on the throat from some thin object." Ryo added. "Could they have done anything?"

"No, there was blood on the body. He had to have bled out right?" Wakana countered.

"So it was the puncture wounds that killed him!" Jiro exclaimed. No. That wasn't right. that couldn't have been right. Jiro was my friend, but I wasn't going to let him hinder this investigation with a false claim, no matter how much he thought he was helping. In the back of my mind I knew it was incorrect, but... why? It was something from our investigation...

**Evidence Bullet: Tomoko's Search**

"You've got that wrong!" I shouted. "...Right?"

"Yes." Tomoko concurred.

"What part of it was wrong?" Chisaki asked.

"Those wounds were bad, but most of the blood spilled _after_ he was already dead. I looked over the body and I can say for certain that the puncture wounds did not kill him." Tomoko continued.

"So that means that whatever marks were on his throat must have killed him, then!" Emiko confirmed.

"It's the only way." Yukio assured.

"The culprit seems to have used the murder weapon to break Naoki-kun's windpipe." Akira said, using his hands to point to his throat.

"Precisely." I said. "But what was the weapon...?"

"That isn't as important right now..." Oka said. "We need to know more about the crime scene. Do we know how things went down? **Was it a surprise?**"

"I think it was probably a sneak attack." Yukio assumed. "The culprit must have sneaked up and killed him with the murder weapon. They were probably smart enough to know that he was weak and wouldn't fight much."

"I can see that happening." Satoru confirmed. "The killer approached from behind and... got him."

"He was small. That's probably why he was chosen as a target." Masaru decided. Was he mocking Naoki's death? Sure Naoki was short and skinny, but he deserved better than being considered a target. He was a person!

"Naoki-kun probably had no idea of what was happening." Wakana finished. She had to be wrong too. I stressed trying to find out the flaw in her statement. Naoki had gotten mad when he thought someone stole his journal. If someone gave even a bit of a hint that they were going to hurt him... he would have noticed. He would've... fought back!

**Evidence Bullet: Office Supplies**

"That's not it!" I exclaimed. "There were signs of a struggle."

"How are you so sure?" Masaru questioned angrily. "The little kid was probably outsmarted!"

"There was a bunch of office supplies scattered on the ground. Naoki-kun tried to fight back!" I said. Upon saying such words, the courtroom became silent. Oka, Tomoko, and Jiro glanced at me, nodding with my statement. They were there when we looked at the body. They proved with such a little motion that my outburst was correct. Masaru gave me a shocked look before returning to a facial expression of bitterness. He was angry... that he was wrong. I was right.

"Well... how come no one heard anything?" He argued as he scratched his mop of brown hair.

"The rooms are soundproof." I answered. "Not just our dormitory rooms, but also the Teacher's Lounge. If the murder happened with the door closed, then no one could have heard anything."

"We found the door open at the start, which probably means that the killer spent little time trying to clean up afterwards..." Jiro concluded.

"Let's move on from that." Tomoko suggested. "Since we can't find out what the murder weapon is right now, let's look at the **time of death**. Then we can talk about alibis afterwards."

"How would we do that?" Akira noted.

"There aren't any clues as to when the culprit killed Naoki-kun." Emiko stated.

"You're right. I guess that would make it difficult..." Yukio said.

"Um I-" Ryo started before being cut off.

"We can't figure out alibis without the time of death..." Satoru said with a stressed voice. "Oh no. This isn't going well..."

"We're going to die!" Emiko cried.

No we weren't. Not now. If the group got hysteric, then we'd surely wind up dead. The others made another incorrect move. I was getting better at this. I knew exactly where to counter with Emiko's flawed sentence. There was person who held the answer.

**Evidence Bullet: Ryo's Testimony**

"Ryo-san!" I called out. She looked back at me, slightly baffled. She wasn't able to call past Satoru's voice, so I figured I could help. "You said that you saw Naoki-kun alive this morning, right?"

"Y-yes. I did see him." She affirmed. "I saw him at 6:30 AM."

"What did he say?!" Yukio asked. The remaining students were as curious as he was.

"What were you doing out that early?" Wakana asked suspiciously.

"He didn't say much. I was going to make breakfast... but the cafeteria was still closed." She answered. "But I did see Naoki-kun on my way there... along with Kaito-kun."

All eyes turned to Kaito, who still had a glassy look on his face. He was in some sort of trance. Or maybe he was just going insane. Either way, everyone still thought he was the culprit. Could he really have broken Naoki's windpipe and stabbed him?

"Do you understand why this is a big clue?" I asked my classmates. Most looked at me with confused looks. "Think about it... Ryo-san spotted Naoki-kun in the halls at 6:30 AM... so that means..."

"That means that... the murder occurred between 6:30 AM and when we discovered the body!" Emiko said ecstatically and anti-climatically.

"Obviously." Akira said, shooting her a glare to make her feel like an idiot. She laughed quietly as her face turned bright red. "We found the body at 7:05 AM. With that information, we now know that the murderer had to kill him and be out of there within thirty minutes. That's probably why there wasn't much of a clean-up..."

"Everyone..." Oka started. "Give us your alibis from 6:30 AM to 7:05 AM." She turned to a nervous Emiko first.

"Oh, me?" She asked. "Well, I was sleeping."

"I was asleep as well." Tomoko put simply.

"I was too." Wakana commented.

"Same with me." Satoru added.

"I think everyone was." I said. "Everyone besides Ryo-san and Kaito-kun at least."

"Don't forget about Yukio-kun." Akira pointed out. "He said it himself. He was awake after 3:35 AM. He could have done it!"

"I did not!" Yukio shouted out loud. "You did!"

"Don't make me beat your face in!" Akira threatened.

"Not if I can kick yours first!" Yukio hollered.

"Shut up." Tomoko said, loud enough to pierce the ongoing argument. "Listen... how tall are you two?"

"Why?" Akira demanded.

"Just tell me." She insisted.

"I am 175 centimeters tall." Yukio detested.

"I'm 177." Akira muttered. Tomoko nodded and whispered something to herself. What was she up to?

"Well there you have it." Tomoko said. "You two are innocent."


	18. Trial One: Part 2

"How do you know that?" Satoru asked, quite shocked by Tomoko's seemingly abrupt conclusion. How was she able to prove that they were innocent? Had she done some extra research after I had left? She seemed so rock solid with her conclusion. Everyone inched closer to her, dying to figure out her reasoning. Neither of the boys seemed like they would kill anyone, but how would she know for sure that they didn't do it?

"Because..." Tomoko proclaimed. "...the neck wounds..."

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Emiko called out. "We know that the neck wounds killed him. Someone hit him from the front with something."

"We've already gone over that, Yoshida-san." Wakana muttered. "You can't just say they're innocent without reason." I saw a glint in Tomoko's eye. She had figured something out. She wasn't confused. She was reaching a breakthrough. There was something she knew... that Wakana didn't. Brushing the stray violet hairs from her face, Tomoko took a deep breathe and stared into Wakana's shocking red eyes.

"It's simple, really." Tomoko began. "We've agreed that the neck wounds were the cause of death, right? If that's true, then we should take into account how things most likely occurred."

"But I thought there wasn't enough evidence." Masaru pondered.

"Well we are well aware that it wasn't a surprise attack, and since the blows were only to the front of the neck, we know that the culprit would have to be a certain height to deliver such a powerful attack with the average swing distance, angle, speed, and arm length." Tomoko answered. "From my own search, I've concluded that the culprit would have to be over 182 centimeters tall. Therefore, the two of them are innocent."

"That's... amazing." I said awestruck. The courtroom was surprised that she could be so confident. She stood silent, allowing the whole class to fully grasp what she had said. No one spoke. No one could prove her reasoning wrong.

"Which means that it couldn't be those two babbling idiots." Oka finalized. "Or Kaito-kun..."

"Wait... there is only one person here who's over 182 centimeters..." Satoru began.

"That's Jiro-kun." Chisaki said with a frightened look on her face. All eyes darted to the tallest boy in the room. His eyes grew wide and he looked shocked himself. It couldn't have been him... right? He was friends with Naoki. My thoughts began to tangle up. I could tell Tomoko was telling the truth, but I could never see Jiro killing someone. The others sent terrifying stares towards the honey-haired boy. He clutched the straps of his camera in fear. Slowly, he backed away from the podium he stood at.

"I didn't... I wouldn't!" He shouted.

"Think about it..." Masaru started. "Jiro-kun was the first one to discover the body. When you look at it all, I don't think there's anything to **prove his innocence**. Haruki-san, how did you come to find Jiro-kun this morning?"

"U-um..." I stuttered. "I saw him outside of the dormitory rooms."

"You were the only one to see him this morning." Masaru confirmed. "Isn't it entirely possible that Jiro-kun could have killed the victim, and had attempted to return to his room unseen, but was spotted before he could?"

"But..." I went.

"So instead of compromising his position, he instead chose to play dumb and find the body himself...?" Masaru continued.

"No he-" I tried.

"Face it, Haruki-san." He said vindictively. "He's the only possible person. There's no use denying it. Your so-called _friend_ here is the culprit. Aren't I right folks?"

"Y-yes..." Ryo squeaked.

"Ryo-san?!" Jiro shrieked. She stood still, not looking him in the eye. She thought he was guilty too... but he couldn't have been guilty. He just had to be innocent. It didn't seem like anyone was seeing the truth in Jiro's eyes. I saw something. I just knew deep down... that Jiro didn't kill Naoki. Someone else here did! I may have only met the Super High School Level Cameraman just yesterday, but I was certain that he wasn't the culprit. And I wouldn't let him be lynched by this hyper-reactive mob!

"I...I'm sorry." She said, fixing her pink pigtails.

"Don't feel bad, Ryo-san." Akira reassured. "Jiro-kun did do it!"

**Evidence Bullet: Coffee & Mugs**

"He's innocent!" I yelled.

"No he's not!" Wakana yelped.

"You have no proof!" Yukio barked.

"I do!" I insisted. "On the first day, we found the Teacher's Lounge, Naoki-kun, Jiro-kun and myself. While there, Naoki-kun said he loved coffee, but Jiro-kun said he didn't like the drink whatsoever."

"What difference does that make?!" Chisaki hollered.

"There were two cups. One cup was Naoki-kun's, so the other had to belong to the culprit." Oka tried to explain. Most of the other students were not open to new evidence though.

"I get it now." Satoru realized. Everyone whipped their heads around to face him. "There were two cups of coffee. If Jiro didn't like coffee, and Naoki-kun saw him drinking some... he would've been aware of what was about to happen. He probably wouldn't have even entered."

"Exactly." I replied.

"That's how they attracted Naoki-kun to the room." Satoru continued.

"He was lured in with the offer of a fresh cup of coffee, but fought back as soon as he found out." Oka added.

"So the culprit would have to be someone that liked coffee, but was also tall?" Emiko called out. "Jiro's the only one who fits the height calculation, but he doesn't like coffee... Argh! I'm getting all confused! Can someone please explain where we're going with this?"

"I'm... not sure..." Tomoko said confused. "I'm positive that my work was correct when the different factors are added in."

"Perhaps you misjudged something..." Ryo commented.

"I can't." Tomoko quipped.

"Why couldn't you?" Akira asked. "Come to think of it... we don't know much about you. You just showed up without even a formal introduction."

"Yeah. He's right." Emiko agreed. "Why are we even trusting you so much?"

"Because..." Tomoko said.

"Because why?!" Masaru demanded.

"Because!" Tomoko answered passionately. I had never heard her talk like that. "You have to trust me because... I'm... I'm..."

"You're what?" Masaru asked furiously.

"I'm..." She began. "Important."


	19. Trial One: Part 3

The courtroom grew quiet right away. Tomoko was important? It baffled us all. It didn't answer still open questions. Why wasn't she wasn't afraid to touch the body? And why did her personality completely shifted after the murder? What she said didn't measure up to our current issue, though. We were at a standstill. No one could make sense of what was happening. How could we have conflicting evidence? My head stung from a headache. What were we going to do? We've established that Jiro wasn't the culprit... wait a second. Jiro. He has something we can use. My eyes soared across the courtroom and rested on the lens of his expensive camera. We needed to take a look at his photo evidence. It could very well save our lives.

"Jiro-kun." I began. "You still have those pictures, right?" He nodded silently.

"We can look over the crime scene again." Yukio pointed out.

"Tanuwon. Is there anyway we could show these photos to the court?" I asked.

"I suppose you could." Tanuwon said.

Tanuwon pointed and shook his cane just above my head, and instantly, a white screen descended from the ceiling. He pulled a long cord out from thin air and tossed it to Jiro. It was a connector cable. He plugged the wire into his camera, and right away, the first of his pictures appeared on the screen. The photo was of Naoki's lifeless body. I shook in my boots. With all of the discussion, I had forgotten what we were arguing over. The photo was zoomed in on his chest, specifically showing off his gruesome puncture wound. We analyzed it for a moment before Tomoko spoke up.

"No..." She said. "Next one."

No one knew exactly what she was looking for, but we had decided to trust her. We flipped through more photos, and one by one, she dismissed them. We landed on the last photograph. It was focused on his neck wounds. Almost immediately, she came to a realization. Tomoko jogged to the screen and pointed at Naoki's neck.

"Ryo-san. You were right. I had misjudged the crime scene." She said. It sounded strange to hear coming from her mouth, but she kept talking right afterwards as she walked back to her podium.

"I had thought that the wounds were a blow to the front, but upon further examination, it's clear that the wounds aren't swinging hits." Tomoko notified. "Look at how they **curve around his throat**. It's evident that the wounds came from behind. Instead, the victim was strangled by something."

The others stared with an open mouth at her. We looked at her, then the picture on the screen, and then back at her. She was right. The marks were curved around his slim neck like he was suffocated. Was he suffocated? Only through our discussion could we find out. Masaru tried to form a sentence, but he wasn't able to make a complete and coherent phrase. Satoru scratched his head.

"So he wasn't hit from the front." Satoru clarified. "He was choked from behind."

"And whatever choked him... was the murder weapon." Oka commented.

"But aren't we still unclear on what killed him?" Akira asked. No... we weren't. Not anymore. I knew exactly what killed our friend.

**Evidence Bullet: Rope**

"I know what killed him." I spoke up. All eyes were on me. "It was the rope found in his bedroom."

"You're right." Emiko concurred. "I saw it too. His Electronic Student Identification Card was in his room as well, under his dresser."

"Interesting." Tomoko added. "The rope was probably placed there by the culprit directly after the murder. The ESIC was used to unlock the door to Naoki-kun's room, I'm guessing. Like Jiro-kun said before, there wasn't much of a clean up."

"Wait a second..." Masaru butted in. "I've never seen rope anywhere in this school? Where would the culprit get rope from in the first place?"

"I know." Wakana interjected. She hadn't been very nice towards me today, but I had a feeling she was about to be a big help. She spoke like she did when I first met her yesterday. "That rope is from the school's theater. It's the same as the other coils of rope there. I'm absolutely positive."

"Really?" Oka asked.

"Yes." Wakana cleared. "I looked through that theater several times. I was too excited not to look."

"But if the rope was from the theater... and the circumstances involving height are no longer important..." Yukio began. "Then anyone of us could be the killer! All the work we did beforehand is meaningless! We really are going to die in here!"

"Argh!" Akira grunted. "And the only one we can rule out right now is-"

"Me." Kaito said quietly. We were stunned to hear him talk again, especially since his face regained more of a sense of normality. He started to look like he used to. On his answer, he was correct. He was too short to choke Naoki. He was the shortest one here. At the angle that our friend was attacked, he would be completely unable to choke him.

"Then how can we tell who killed him?!" Jiro complained.

"I don't... think we can..." I moped. I couldn't think of a solution. I needed to. Everyone's lives were at stake. I had to do more. Just then, someone raised their voice across the room, pounding a solid fist into the front of their podium.

"Yes we can!" Wakana said. "I know how, too! Miyamoto-kun and I didn't leave the theater until Night Time began."

"Is that true?" Tomoko wondered.

"Yes." Satoru replied. "She wouldn't let me leave until I helped her with every outfit and every piece of makeup. We ended up staying there for almost four hours, and then left as soon as the Night Time announcement went on. We didn't want to risk getting in trouble with our_ headmaster_."

"So that means that-" Wakana started before Tanuwon chuckled and cut off the actress's words. It was as if this was a game to him. This was no game. He would just try to break our spirits and get us to cause our own deaths... but we couldn't do that! I shot him a glare right away, and saw as he slowly stopped laughing. He wasn't going to kill us all. We were going to prevail!

"What is it, Haruki-san?" Tanuwon asked.

"Be quiet." Akira insisted. He spoke on my behalf? Why would he do that?

"What did you say?" Tanuwon asked with a held-in rage behind his voice.

"I said be quiet. We're trying to work here. If you feel the need to interrupt, I can just scorch you up here and now!" Akira threatened as he reached for his lighter.

"Violence against the headmaster is forbidden." Tanuwon noted. His voice became darker as he droned on. "Do that and I'll give you a real lesson in respecting your elders."

"Wakana-sama." I said, stopping the altercation between the pyrotechnic and the plush doll. If I knew anything about Akira, it's that he would fight with anyone who ordered him around. We didn't need another death. "Please continue."

"Thank you." Wakana said. "So that means that the culprit had to visit the theater themselves. And since the theater was locked up tight, no one else could get in after Night Time. And with the murder taking place before the theater opened back up..that means that whoever killed Ueda-kun... was in the theater with us last night."

Her words held a heavy load. At first it seemed like we may have ruled out one or two more people as culprit, but when I thought about it, it was clear how many people were still being considered. Jiro, Chisaki, Wakana, Satoru, and Yukio were the only ones left. That made five... and because I was there too... six. I knew I didn't do it... but what would the others think of me? Would they call me guilty? If I was to get to the truth... I'd have to fight not just for the other innocent people with me that night... but also myself.


	20. Trial One: Part 4

Added: 9/19/13. We are getting close to finding out who dun' it! Any guesses? Make 'em quick, because the court won't be in session for much longer!

* * *

It was time... we were nearing the end of the trial. Unfortunately, I was at the top of the suspect list, along with five others. And to think... all of the arguing I did to prove Jiro's innocence, only for him to be considered a suspect again. Wakana had just confirmed that one of us killed Naoki. But who did it? We would need to find out... soon. Everyone began staring at each other. I could see Emiko staring straight at Wakana. Eventually the red haired girl caught her glance and reacted.

"Well obviously I didn't do it!" Wakana shouted. "I narrowed down the suspect list the most!"

"Sorry! You can never be too sure." Emiko apologized as she fiddled with her braid. "Do you have any other proof?"

"I can vogue for Wakana-sama." Satoru called. "She can vogue for me too. We are both innocent."

Wakana nodded. That was worse. We were closer to the truth... but I was still a suspect. With a smaller amount of suspects, I was no doubt quickly climbing the ladder of guiltiness. What was I to do? I kept staring around the room. I had proof that Jiro and Chisaki were innocent as well, but I didn't want to say it, only because more people would think I killed Naoki. But I didn't! Did that mean that Yukio did it? I was sure he didn't. I fiddled with my fingers, brushed stray hairs from my face; did just about anything to distract myself. Why was I so scared to just talk? I was scared they would call me a liar. I wanted to help... but I was scared...

"I'm safe too." Jiro said. I gulped. "Haruki-san said before that I was innocent. Remember the whole coffee ordeal?"

"You're right." Oka declared. "That leaves us... with you two."

"Two?" Akira asked.

"Yes." Oka clarified. "Chisaki-san got sick at the sight of the bloody body, remember? She couldn't have killed Naoki-kun."

"It's true..." Chisaki said as she clutched her stomach. Her getting sick thinking about the crime scene was not important right now.

"Which means it's down to Haruki-san and Yukio-kun. Let's get this over with." Oka concluded. They still thought I was suspicious. I didn't kill Naoki! The other watched Yukio and myself. We looked at each other in shock. What was going on? This couldn't have been right... could it? We had to find the truth.

"I knew it!" Akira shouted. "I knew you did it! I should have killed you myself in that gym!"

"I'm innocent!" Yukio hollered.

"It's alright, Yukio-kun." Masaru began. Akira looked surprised. "I know who really did this." He turned to me silently. I stopped breathing. I had to face this terrible person once more. And this time, he wouldn't stop until I admitted to something I didn't even do. I had to talk it out, though. "Haruki-san... You were friends with Naoki-kun before his passing. You had an opportunity. I bet you killed him, didn't you? "

"N-no." I stammered.

"Really?" He continued. "You were one of the last ones in the theater. You talked to him a quite a bit. You could have stolen a rope from the theater while no one was looking and killed him, right? Right?"

"I didn't!" I shouted.

"Yes you did!" He shouted back. The others gazed intensely at me. But I didn't do it! They had to believe me. If they didn't, not only would we all die, but the horrible person who killed my friend would get away without repercussions. I was getting desperate. I needed to prove my innocence. I couldn't have grabbed the rope. I had no time. I was only there for a few minutes. Wait... why was I trying to convince myself? I wasn't the culprit. Was I starting to doubt myself? This was unimaginable.

"I didn't do it!" I pleaded.

"You did!"

"I didn't!"

"Shut your mouth!" He bellowed. His face was in a state of complete and utter rage. I mirrored him with one of desperation. "You call yourself a national hero, when you're nothing more than a dirty criminal!" He screamed. "This ends right now! You killed him! You did it! You did it! And now we're going to kill you! Tanuwon, I'm ready to take my vote!"

"Excellent." Tanuwon chuckled.

"No!" I screamed. Tears began forming in my eyes. The others did nothing to speak out against him. They believed him. They thought I killed Naoki. I began crying, allowing salty, stinging tears to fall onto the wooden podium. I glanced up at Naoki's picture next to me. In the picture he was smiling. I needed to avenge him. I couldn't take the fall. I was innocent. I wiped my tears, but this time my face was no longer masked with despair... it was blinded with hope.

"I didn't do it!" I said again. "You have to believe me."

"I don't think we can." Chisaki whispered.

"Haruki-san..." Ryo said with watery eyes. "Y-y-you..."

"Stop." Tomoko announced. "She did not kill him."

"What are you talking about?" Masaru yelled angrily. I took a deep breathe. Finally, someone took my side. I wasn't alone.

"Even if we can't prove Haruki-san innocent. We can prove someone else guilty." She said. All eyes immediately flew towards Yukio. He looked at us with terror in his eyes. He clutched his podium as his big blue eyes grew wider and wider. Did he really do it? His knees were weak and his arms shook violently. I couldn't understand what was going on. Akira broke the moment of silence with his own hateful words.

"I told you all!" He screamed. "It was Yukio-kun!"

"No." Tomoko answered.

"N-no?" He asked. "What do you mean 'no'?! He's the only one left! He had to have done it!"

"But he isn't." Tomoko replied quietly, completely unfazed by the boy's powerful and angry words. "There is one person we overlooked. One person that was just skipped over. One person who really did kill Ueda Naoki."

"Who?!" Emiko said with anxiety in her voice.

"Her." Tomoko said as she stared down the inventor, Hamasaki Chisaki.


	21. Trial One: Part 5

"W-what?" Chisaki responded. Everyone had a similar reaction. It seemed that no one could understand what Tomoko was talking about. She was accusing Chisaki? But she seemed like she was friends with Naoki too. We would have to listen to her delivery to understand what she meant."You think I killed Naoki-kun? I'm afraid of blood, remember? That's why I left the crime scene to go to my room this morning."

"No." Tomoko replied. "You aren't afraid of blood."

"Yes... I am." Chisaki rebutted. "Why is this even important, anyway? It's either Haruki-san or Yukio-kun who killed the victim."

"But Tomoko-san is correct." I said. Everyone looked at me with utterly confused looks. I understood where Tomoko was going with this. "Remember yesterday at dinner? Ryo-san had entered the cafeteria with blood on her hand from where she accidentally cut herself. You had no reaction then. You didn't say anything about it. Why not?"

"U-um." Chisaki began. Before we could say anything else, she fired up. "No! I didn't do anything!"

"Maybe it just wasn't enough blood...?" Satoru suggested. No, that wasn't it. She didn't react not because of the amount of blood, but because she was lying. We had her. She had slipped up.

"I didn't do anything!" Chisaki repeated as she flinched. She held her stomach after she did so. Was she in pain? I remembered her doing the same thing when we had first found the body.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Ryo asked.

"Doing what?" Chisaki answered with a question.

"You keep grabbing your stomach. Did you get hurt?" Ryo asked again.

"N-no!" Chisaki said quickly. She straightened her posture again as she talked. "I just feel a little sick with all of this blood and death."

"Really?" Tomoko responded. "That's not what I think."

"Oh and what do you think?" Chisaki snidely replied.

"I think that you have a wound on your stomach." Tomoko continued. "At the crime scene, we discovered a stapler on the ground by the victim's right hand. After seeing him write yesterday, we can confirm that he is right-handed. We already know he acted in self-defense, so is it not entirely plausible that you were hit by the stapler during your attack? Getting stabbed by a staple and to have it ripped through your skin would sting, no doubt."

"N-no!" Chisaki said panicked.

"If you're fine, then just show us your stomach." Masaru demanded.

"That's perverted." Chisaki commented with a sneer. "I'm not going to do it."

"We could just vote now." Masaru threatened. Chisaki took a deep breath, bit her lower lip, and slowly pulled up her t-shirt, revealing several small, bright red marks on her abdomen. That was where she was hit. Everything was about to collapse in on her, and she was aware. She was about to pay for what she did.

"I was right." Tomoko said.

"That proves nothing." Chisaki countered. "I just hurt myself while falling a few days ago."

"No." I said. "The mark is bright red. If your _accident_ happened days ago, wouldn't you not have red marks? Those wounds looks new." She tried to continue talking, but I purposely cut her off. "And this isn't our only evidence. When I talked to Naoki, he said you were the first one inside of the theater yesterday. You checked it out first. With the time you were 'checking', you could have easily snagged a coil of thin rope and hid it under your shirt. Then you left right afterwards and no one thought twice about it."

"Hey, no!" Chisaki intervened. "S-stop telling lies!"

"There's more, Chisaki-san." Tomoko said again. "You didn't help with the investigation, only to prevent us from reaching the truth. And beforehand, I was unable to exactly pinpoint what weapon caused the puncture wounds. I knew it was a small cylinder-like object, but now I am certain of what was used. It was your special pen."

"Her pen?" Yukio repeated, astonished by the accusation.

"Yes." Tomoko replied. "Naoki-kun had seen it beforehand, so if Chisaki-san had pulled it out in mid-conversation, he would've thought nothing of it. She said herself that the pen wouldn't leave any ink behind unless it touched paper. If she used it with enough power, she could puncture skin and cause a significant amount of blood loss."

"Stop!" Chisaki pleaded. Her face grew increasingly pale and her eyes became red. The others in the courtroom turned to her, staring her down. They were realizing it too. We had found her out. She had planned it. She did it. She had to have done it. There's no other explanation. Everything was matching up. Everything began to settle into place.

"It's time to face facts." Masaru shouted. "A ruthless killer like yourself must be punished! We have no room for a monster here."

"No!" She screamed.

"Admit it!" I yelled.

"N-no! I didn't do it!" She pleaded.

"Fine." I said. "Then we'll just have to prove it. Here's how it happened. Last night you started scheming. You were going to kill someone. You stole the rope from the theater when you saw it , and left early to plan the gruesome murder. Then it was early in the morning. You saw Naoki up in the morning while you were getting coffee for yourself. You made two cups, so you could lure your would-be victim inside the Teacher's Lounge. You didn't care, right? You were probably just looking for the first target. You talked for a bit and then you began your plan. You set down your coffee and closed the door before you stabbed him in the hand with your pen. He dropped his full mug, which shattered on the ground. He fought back. He knocked papers in your path, before he hit you in the stomach with the stapler. You retaliated and stabbed him again, this time in the stomach. He dropped the stapler and tried to stop the bleeding, but there was a lot of it. That's how he got covered in it. Next, you pulled the rope out from under your shirt again, got behind him, and strangled him. He was too weak to fight back then."

"No!" She cried.

"There's more." Jiro called. "After you killed him, you realized that people would be waking up soon, so you got rid of all of the evidence you could. You stole his ESIC and entered his room. You tried to hide the rope under his bed and through his card under the dresser. You then pulled out the staples from your body and attempted to act like you had no idea of what happened. When really... It was you that did this!"

"P-p-please..." Chisaki whimpered.

"Admit it!" I shouted again.

"I did it!" She squealed. Gasps echoed through the courtroom. Chisaki fell, with only her podium supporting her skinny body. Her mess of green hair was pressed against the top of the podium as she sobbed into the structure. We were right... she did do it. She killed Naoki-kun. She killed my friend. She killed _our_ friend. "I-I'm s-sorry." She cried softly. The more she apologized... the angrier I got. She had to pay! She couldn't just apologize and expect forgiveness! The only thing she could expect was punishment!

"Why...?" Oka queried. Chisaki rose slowly from the podium, batting the frizzy green hairs from her vision. She was still crying. Tears made her eyes even more red. Her face was just as crimson.

"I-I'm sorry." She whispered again. "It's because of... Tanuwon."

"Ohohoho." Tanuwon chuckled from atop his golden throne. "Care to explain further?"

"It was... about what you said... when we first arrived." She continued, teary-eyed. "You said that my designs were used to trap us in here. And I immediately felt guilty. Everyone was judging me. So... I knew I needed to get out as soon as possible. I picked Naoki-kun because of what Masaru-kun said. He was weak. I knew I could kill him, but I didn't expect him to f-fight back." All of a sudden, her mood switched from sad to angry and passionate. "I just-just needed to escape! I need to leave! I can't stand being in here! Let me go! I want to go, let me go!"

"You're a monster." Ryo said quietly.

"And now you're going to be punished." Akira shouted.

"Wait! You don't have to kill me, right?" Chisaki negotiated.

"But... Tanuwon said-" Emiko started.

"Forget him!" She said in desperation. "You can save me!"

"No." Tomoko uttered. "We can't." Chisaki looked at her in shock. "You killed someone. Now you're going to get killed."

"...Y-you..." Chisaki stuttered. "...you're the real monsters!"

"I think we've heard enough." Tanuwon said, pointing his cane high in the air. "Let's get to voting."


	22. Trial One: Endgame

Added: 9/26/13. This is it, folks.

* * *

"On your podiums, you will find a touch screen." Tanuwon said. I looked down and saw the podium's wooden top flip around, revealing an electronic device. On it was the name of every student in the courtroom, including the deceased Ueda Naoki. "Please select the culprit by clicking on their name. Whoever gets the most votes will be claimed as the culprit. And remember... choose wrong and you'll pay."

"You don't need to do this! Please!" Chisaki cried.

"You did this." Ryo said as she clicked a choice on her screen. Chisaki's face filled with more tears. No matter how much she teared and pleaded and begged, I knew we had to do this. It was for the best. We couldn't just kill everyone else in the group. No. She killed Naoki. Now she had to receive her punishment.

"It's your own fault." Akira solemnly told. He too pushed his finger onto one of the selections. The others followed in his wake, one by one, selecting a choice. It was time for me to choose as well. I found the choice I wanted and pressed my fingerprint onto the screen. The name "Hamasaki Chisaki" was illuminated for a moment, before the whole device showed a black screen. A white wheel then was shown on the dark background with the words "VOTING IN PROGRESS" above it. I would have to wait until everyone voted.

"Who hasn't voted yet?" Yukio asked aloud. Right away, we all faced Chisaki. She still had a tear-stained face, but she had a half-smile painted on instead of a frown. I could tell exactly what she was trying to do.

"Hamasaki-san. What are you doing?" Wakana implored.

"Do you think I'll send myself to my own death?" She smirked. "Even if I voted I'd still be chosen. So I'm n-not voting. I'll hold of the verdict for as long as I must."

"You have to!" Emiko complained.

"It doesn't matter." Tanuwon chuckled. He waved his cane in the air above her head. "I'll just take away the privilege of voting from her."

"Wait, no!" Chisaki realized.

"Too late!" Tanuwon said. "Let's see who the culprit is...!"

My heart stopped beating. This was the moment. It was a moment filled with doubt. Sure, she admitted to the crime... but... what if it was false? What if we were wrong? My head spun, but I tried to stay confident. The black screen on my podium turned into a new picture. It showed a slot machine. I froze. The three reels began to spun around and around. They were moving fast, but I could easily see the faces of my classmates on the reel. I was even able to see my own face looking back at me for split-seconds at a time. What was probably a few seconds seemed like hours. Finally, the reels slowed, all landing on one face.

Hamasaki Chisaki.

The screen flashes green with the words "CONGRATULATIONS" between every flash. We...did it. We won. Justice prevailed. I stared up at Wakana who looked back at me with an awestruck smile. Everyone began smiling and sighing in relief. Only Chisaki stood stone cold in the space of her podium, with no emotion anymore. She was gone. She was dead inside. She lost.

"That's right, folks. Your friend here killed Naoki-kun." Tanuwon announced. "And now... it's time for her proper execution."

"Wait." Tomoko called. "What do you mean... proper?"

"She will be given her own personal execution, of course." He clarified. Before anyone could speak out, the courtroom wall behind Tanuwon fell down, revealing a metal fence and what appeared to be metal poles. Despite our shock, we were given no time to comprehend what was going on. The execution was about to begin.

**HAMASAKI CHISAKI - Execution:** _"Tesla Terror"_

A wire shot out from the back room that was just revealed, clinging to the culprit's shirt. She was yanked backwards and pulled into the room at incredible speed. Tanuwon hopped off of his throne and lead us into the mysterious back room. From this new vantage point, it was clear what was about to happen. Chiasaki was dangled above the center of a circular metal enclosure. Forming a triangle inside the fence, were three giant Tesla coils. Just below Chisaki on the cold cement floor was a red "X". The wire released her, and she fell hard onto the ground. As she pulled herself up, Tanuwon waved his cane. I gulped. The three Tesla coils began to spin in a counter clockwise circle. They quickly picked up speed and before long, I could only see Chisaki through gaps in the circle. A zap occurred, stabbing into the girl with a sickening crack.

"Stop! Please!" She begged. Chisaki was hit by more and more shocks and jolts of electricity as the coils picked up speed. They then began to diverge inwards. The closer they got, the stronger the bolts became. Chisaki screamed in agony as multiple streams of electricity hit her body. The last time I saw her face was in between the rapid movements of the coils.

"W-wait!" Ryo cried. "This is too m-much." The pig-tailed girl collapsed in fear. The coils were less than an inch from Chisaki's body before her screaming ceased. A boom of thunder erupted and filled the room. My eyes stung from the rapid flashing that came from the execution area. In silence, the coils retracted, revealing the disgustingly singed and nearly ashen body of a girl. She... was dead. That was obvious. The group screamed in fear. Masaru lifted the unconscious Ryo into his arms even though his body at first seemed completely still. Everyone was in shock.

We had lost another student. Hamasaki Chisaki, Super High School Inventor was no more.

**The count was no longer fourteen... but twelve.**

It had been a full thirty minutes since we witnessed the execution. I would have left immediately for my room if Tanuwon hadn't requested that I'd meet him in the Teacher's Lounge... the scene of the crime. His message glowed on my Electronic Card as I arrived at the door. I pushed it open and flipped on the light. I was shocked. Naoki's body was gone. Vanished. It was like he had never been there. Tanuwon stood in the place it occupied, tapping his foot on the ground.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I have something for you." He said. From out of thin air he pulled out Naoki's missing journal. How did he get it? Naoki was looking for the journal yesterday... and Tanuwon had it. "Here you go, Haruki-san."

"Th-thank you?" I said, catching the book. "Where did you-"

"I stole it." Tanuwon confessed with a smile. "It was supposed to be the first motive. The feeling of your property being taken can drive you to great lengths. Alas, I unknowingly got the girl to murder instead. The theme became guilt, I suppose. Oh well. I'm sure he would want you to have it."

"Oh..." I uttered. I was confused. Then I was angry. "It's your fault he's dead."

"Me?" He said startled. "Why no! I didn't lay a hand on him. I only provided the motive. You can blame Chisaki-san for that."

"What do you want from us?" I asked. Tanuwon chuckled.

"I told you." He began. "You're here for your own protection. Your talents should not be wasted."

"Leave her alone." A voice called from outside of the room. Kaito clung to the door frame.

"Oh?!" Tanuwon replied. "How long have you been there?"

"Leave her alone." Kaito repeated.

"Alright! Alright!" Tanuwon said as he quickly disappeared.

"T-thanks." I said.

"Haruki-san." Kaito whispered quietly. He sounded like he was going to tell me a secret.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Follow me." He said back. Kaito let go of the door frame and walked down the hall. I hesitated at first, but I was soon trailing behind him. We walked down the tiled floors until we came to the cafeteria. What was he leading me to? I continued walking. The naturalist arrived at the large metal wall he looked at yesterday. I remembered his outburst and the tears in his eyes. I never knew what that was about... but I feared I was about to find out. I stopped a few feet short of the wall, only to have Kaito pull me closer to it.

"Tell me what we're doing exactly." I ordered.

"You'll understand." Kaito whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" I asked. He gestured for me to look at the wall. Why? The closer I got, the stranger the wall seemed to be. In fact, I even started to see some light peaking through. What was going on? As I pressed my face to the wall, I could now see that it wasn't even a wall at all. It was a window. I gazed through the structure and took in the sight. I hadn't seen the outside since yesterday. To think, we've had two deaths in only two days. I kept staring and observed the nearby park. There were children playing, mothers watching, dogs running... it was so peaceful. No wonder Kaito was upset. He wasn't suffering a breakdown... he missed nature. He wanted to go back.

"Now you see..." He whispered.

"I'm sorry they thought you were guilty." I answered.

"I drew suspicion to myself with my odd attitude. I was upset at first because I missed my true home. When the murder happened, I thought this would be the motive. I didn't want to reveal it to anyone because I thought someone might connect it to the murder."

"Does that mean-"

"Yes. I trust you."

Before I could talk to him once more, I felt a sharp pain on my head and went out like a light.

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

Thank you for staying tuned for this first chapter! I hope some of you guessed right. Chapter Two will come within the next week so be on the look out!


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